| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Assembly of Religious Experts (Majies-e Khebregan) | A male-dominated (no female allowed to sit) assembly that drafted the 1979 revolution and is charged with evaluating the performance of the supreme leader. |
| ayatollah | "Sign of God," a title conferred upon leading Shiite mojtaheds. |
| Baha'is | Members of a religious minority originating in nineteenth-century Iran who are considered as heretics or defectors from Islam by mainstream Shiites. |
| bazaaris | Traditional merchants. They assisted the clergy in revolution and are part of the black market. After the revolution, they were granted some political access and power. |
| Cultural Revolution | A campaign that started in 1980 to purge revolutionary forces from university campuses. Led to the closure of Iranian universities for a number of years. |
| ejtehad | Exercise of independent reasoning in the (re)interpretation of Islamic law. |
| Expediency Council | A committee with the mandate to resolve differences between the parliament and the Guardian Council. |
| faqih (pl. foqaha) | Jurist, an expert in Islamic jurisdicture. |
| fatva | Binding religious edict issued by a qualified majtahed. |
| Guardian Council | A clerically dominated council that determines who can run in elections and decides whether laws passed by the parliament are compatible with Islam. |
| hojjatoleslam | "Proof of Islam," clerical rank immediately below ayatollah. |
| imam | Spiritual leader; for Ja'fari Shiites one of the 12 infallible heirs to the Prophet descended from Ali. |
| jihad | Holy war. |
| Majles | The Iranian parliament, which has some 290 seats. |
| majtahed | One who exercises ejtehad. |
| mullah | A low-ranking cleric trained in traditional law. |
| Quran | The holy book of Islam. |
| religious endowments | Large, state-affiliated conglomerates run by clerics and their lay allies, mainly set up for philanthropic purposes, which have a firm grip on Iran's economy through their monopolistic and rent-seeking transactions. |
| rentier state | A state that derives a substantial portion of its revenues on a regular basis from payments by foreign concerns in the form of rent. |
| Sayyid | A descendant of the Prophet. |
| shah | King, the undisputed leader. |
| Sharia | The canonical law of Islam. |
| Shia | The partisans of Ali |
| supreme leader | The country's most powerful political figure, who has the authority to overrule or dismiss the president, appoints members of the Guardian Council, and has personal representatives in the army, universities, etc. |
| ulema | The collective term for religious leaders. |
| umma | The Islamic community. |
| velayat-e faqih | The doctrine of guardianship of the jurisconsult, popularized by Ayatollah Khomeini. |
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