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🌐 rahyafteha.ir
🇷🇺 Why Do Some Russians Become Shia Muslims?
A recent academic study offers a fascinating look inside a little-known phenomenon.
🔎 In a study titled “Becoming a Shia in Russia: Reasons for Conversion to Shi‘ism in Russia,” researcher Akif Tahiiev examines something that has received surprisingly little scholarly attention: people in Russia who choose to become Shia Muslims.
Published in the Anthropological Journal of European Cultures, the study draws on existing research, ethnographic material, online sources, and interviews with Shia converts — including interviews conducted in Moscow in 2023.
And the stories are more diverse than one might expect.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🧠 The search for truth
According to Tahiiev, one of the most prominent motivations among the converts he studied is intellectual and spiritual inquiry.
Many did not describe their conversion as the result of a sudden emotional experience.
Instead, their journeys involved:
• reading and comparing religions
• studying Islamic theology
• questioning previously held beliefs
• searching for a coherent worldview
• and eventually discovering Shi‘ism
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
✝️➡️☪️ From Christianity to Islam
One of the striking cases discussed in the study is Taras Abdul-Karim Chernienko, born in St. Petersburg in 1976.
He grew up in an intellectual Christian family and was encouraged by his parents to study different religions and cultures.
As a teenager, he began searching for answers.
He eventually became Muslim at 16, in the early 1990s — a period when both Russian Muslims and Russian Shias were still relatively few.
What attracted him to Islam?
Part of the answer was his understanding of Jesus.
Chernienko was looking for a faith that would neither reject Jesus nor worship him as God, but would recognize him as a pure and sinless human being.
That search led him to Islam.
Later, he became one of the prominent figures among Russian Shias and translated important Shia works into Russian, including Nahj al-Balagha.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 Philosophy → Islam → Shi‘ism
Another remarkable figure discussed in the study is Amin Ramin, who holds a PhD in philosophy.
His journey was different.
He explored the foundations of:
✝️ Christianity
☸️ Buddhism
✡️ Judaism
🕉️ Hinduism
☪️ Islam
Eventually, he came to accept Islam — and then made another intellectual journey:
Sunni Islam vs. Shia Islam.
He ultimately chose Twelver Shi‘ism.
His search did not stop there.
He later studied at seminaries in Qom and Najaf, learned Arabic and Persian, and became involved in translating and producing Shia literature in Russian.
He also founded the Arsh313 project, containing articles, books, videos, podcasts, prayers and hadith in Russian.
In other words, for him, conversion was not the end of intellectual exploration.
It became the beginning of it.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🕌 But not everyone follows the same path
The study identifies several different pathways into Russian Shi‘ism.
1️⃣ Ethnic Shias becoming practicing Muslims
Some Azerbaijanis, Lezgins and other traditionally Shia populations grew up identifying culturally as Shia but were not particularly religious.
For them, “conversion” can mean something different:
Not changing from Sunni to Shia —
but moving from cultural identity to conscious religious practice.
Tahiiev includes Azerbaijani interviewees who described this kind of transformation as a form of conversion.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
2️⃣ Sunni → Shia
There are also people who first become Muslim through Sunnism and later discover Shi‘ism.
One example is Kamal Anton Yevstratov, a journalist from Voronezh.
He converted to Sunni Islam in 2007 after visiting Egypt.
Only one year later, he became Shia.
His initial attraction to Islam came through Arabic culture, language and independent study of the Qur'an.
Then his journey continued inside Islam — from Sunni Islam to Shi‘ism.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
3️⃣ Atheists and agnostics → Shia Islam
The study also identifies people with no religious background, particularly atheists and agnostics.
A recent academic study offers a fascinating look inside a little-known phenomenon.
🔎 In a study titled “Becoming a Shia in Russia: Reasons for Conversion to Shi‘ism in Russia,” researcher Akif Tahiiev examines something that has received surprisingly little scholarly attention: people in Russia who choose to become Shia Muslims.
Published in the Anthropological Journal of European Cultures, the study draws on existing research, ethnographic material, online sources, and interviews with Shia converts — including interviews conducted in Moscow in 2023.
And the stories are more diverse than one might expect.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🧠 The search for truth
According to Tahiiev, one of the most prominent motivations among the converts he studied is intellectual and spiritual inquiry.
Many did not describe their conversion as the result of a sudden emotional experience.
Instead, their journeys involved:
• reading and comparing religions
• studying Islamic theology
• questioning previously held beliefs
• searching for a coherent worldview
• and eventually discovering Shi‘ism
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
✝️➡️☪️ From Christianity to Islam
One of the striking cases discussed in the study is Taras Abdul-Karim Chernienko, born in St. Petersburg in 1976.
He grew up in an intellectual Christian family and was encouraged by his parents to study different religions and cultures.
As a teenager, he began searching for answers.
He eventually became Muslim at 16, in the early 1990s — a period when both Russian Muslims and Russian Shias were still relatively few.
What attracted him to Islam?
Part of the answer was his understanding of Jesus.
Chernienko was looking for a faith that would neither reject Jesus nor worship him as God, but would recognize him as a pure and sinless human being.
That search led him to Islam.
Later, he became one of the prominent figures among Russian Shias and translated important Shia works into Russian, including Nahj al-Balagha.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 Philosophy → Islam → Shi‘ism
Another remarkable figure discussed in the study is Amin Ramin, who holds a PhD in philosophy.
His journey was different.
He explored the foundations of:
✝️ Christianity
☸️ Buddhism
✡️ Judaism
🕉️ Hinduism
☪️ Islam
Eventually, he came to accept Islam — and then made another intellectual journey:
Sunni Islam vs. Shia Islam.
He ultimately chose Twelver Shi‘ism.
His search did not stop there.
He later studied at seminaries in Qom and Najaf, learned Arabic and Persian, and became involved in translating and producing Shia literature in Russian.
He also founded the Arsh313 project, containing articles, books, videos, podcasts, prayers and hadith in Russian.
In other words, for him, conversion was not the end of intellectual exploration.
It became the beginning of it.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🕌 But not everyone follows the same path
The study identifies several different pathways into Russian Shi‘ism.
1️⃣ Ethnic Shias becoming practicing Muslims
Some Azerbaijanis, Lezgins and other traditionally Shia populations grew up identifying culturally as Shia but were not particularly religious.
For them, “conversion” can mean something different:
Not changing from Sunni to Shia —
but moving from cultural identity to conscious religious practice.
Tahiiev includes Azerbaijani interviewees who described this kind of transformation as a form of conversion.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
2️⃣ Sunni → Shia
There are also people who first become Muslim through Sunnism and later discover Shi‘ism.
One example is Kamal Anton Yevstratov, a journalist from Voronezh.
He converted to Sunni Islam in 2007 after visiting Egypt.
Only one year later, he became Shia.
His initial attraction to Islam came through Arabic culture, language and independent study of the Qur'an.
Then his journey continued inside Islam — from Sunni Islam to Shi‘ism.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
3️⃣ Atheists and agnostics → Shia Islam
The study also identifies people with no religious background, particularly atheists and agnostics.
Their journey can be more difficult.
Someone from a Muslim cultural background may already have some familiarity with Islamic concepts.
A Russian from a traditionally Orthodox or strongly secular environment may have to learn Islam itself and Shi‘ism simultaneously.
And there is another obstacle:
📖 Russian-language Shia resources are much less abundant than Sunni resources.
According to Tahiiev, this scarcity makes the path toward Shi‘ism more demanding.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
⚖️ Is politics a major reason?
This is where the study becomes particularly interesting.
Shi‘ism is sometimes associated with political resistance, Iran and revolutionary politics.
But Tahiiev argues that political motivation is not the dominant pattern among the prominent Russian converts he studied.
For most of the people discussed, the central themes were:
🧠 intellectual inquiry
🔍 search for truth
🙏 spiritual searching
📚 theological study
🤝 personal networks
There is, however, an important exception.
Fatima-Anastasia Yezhova was strongly influenced by the political and revolutionary dimension of Shi‘ism.
She encountered Islam as a teenager and was deeply influenced by the 1979 Iranian Revolution, ideas of resistance and the Palestinian question.
Her story shows that politics can matter — but it is only one of several pathways.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌍 A post-Soviet story
Perhaps the deeper explanation offered by the study lies beyond individual personalities.
The Soviet Union spent decades marginalizing religious life and promoting atheism.
The result was not simply that people stopped practicing religion.
It also meant that many people inherited religious identities without detailed religious knowledge.
This is especially visible among Muslim ethnic groups.
A person could identify as Azerbaijani, Tatar or another Muslim ethnicity while knowing very little about Islamic theology or even the Sunni–Shia distinction.
After the Soviet collapse, religion became available again — and people began exploring it.
For some, that exploration eventually led to Shi‘ism.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🧩 So what does the research actually tell us?
The Russian case challenges a simple idea of religious conversion.
It is not always:
“I was one religion → something happened → I suddenly became Muslim.”
Sometimes it looks more like:
Question → Study → Doubt → Comparison → Search → Discovery → Practice
And sometimes there is another stage:
Islam → further questioning → comparison between Sunni and Shia traditions → Shi‘ism
For others, it is:
Cultural Shia identity → religious awakening → conscious Shia practice
The researcher therefore describes conversion as a deeply personal but socially embedded process, shaped by intellectual interests, personal relationships, historical circumstances, available religious resources and, in some cases, political ideas.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📌 One important caveat
This is not a statistical survey of all Russian converts.
The study focuses largely on publicly active or well-known converts and people who were able to articulate their experiences.
Ordinary converts — including people who enter Shi‘ism through marriage, family relationships or gradual socialization — are much harder to observe.
So the findings should be understood as illustrative rather than statistically representative.
And this makes the study perhaps even more interesting:
We are not looking at “how many” people converted.
We are looking at how people explain why they converted.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 THE ORIGINAL ACADEMIC PAPER
Akif Tahiiev
“Becoming a Shia in Russia: Reasons for Conversion to Shi‘ism in Russia”
Anthropological Journal of European Cultures
Vol. 34, No. 2 (2025), pp. 92–117
DOI: 10.3167/ajec.2025.340207
🔗 Full paper:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/399917744_Becoming_a_Shia_in_Russia_Reasons_for_Conversion_to_Shi%27ism_in_Russia
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
💭 Perhaps the most fascinating question is not simply why people become Muslim — but why, after discovering Islam, some continue searching until they arrive at Shi‘ism.
Someone from a Muslim cultural background may already have some familiarity with Islamic concepts.
A Russian from a traditionally Orthodox or strongly secular environment may have to learn Islam itself and Shi‘ism simultaneously.
And there is another obstacle:
📖 Russian-language Shia resources are much less abundant than Sunni resources.
According to Tahiiev, this scarcity makes the path toward Shi‘ism more demanding.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
⚖️ Is politics a major reason?
This is where the study becomes particularly interesting.
Shi‘ism is sometimes associated with political resistance, Iran and revolutionary politics.
But Tahiiev argues that political motivation is not the dominant pattern among the prominent Russian converts he studied.
For most of the people discussed, the central themes were:
🧠 intellectual inquiry
🔍 search for truth
🙏 spiritual searching
📚 theological study
🤝 personal networks
There is, however, an important exception.
Fatima-Anastasia Yezhova was strongly influenced by the political and revolutionary dimension of Shi‘ism.
She encountered Islam as a teenager and was deeply influenced by the 1979 Iranian Revolution, ideas of resistance and the Palestinian question.
Her story shows that politics can matter — but it is only one of several pathways.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌍 A post-Soviet story
Perhaps the deeper explanation offered by the study lies beyond individual personalities.
The Soviet Union spent decades marginalizing religious life and promoting atheism.
The result was not simply that people stopped practicing religion.
It also meant that many people inherited religious identities without detailed religious knowledge.
This is especially visible among Muslim ethnic groups.
A person could identify as Azerbaijani, Tatar or another Muslim ethnicity while knowing very little about Islamic theology or even the Sunni–Shia distinction.
After the Soviet collapse, religion became available again — and people began exploring it.
For some, that exploration eventually led to Shi‘ism.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🧩 So what does the research actually tell us?
The Russian case challenges a simple idea of religious conversion.
It is not always:
“I was one religion → something happened → I suddenly became Muslim.”
Sometimes it looks more like:
Question → Study → Doubt → Comparison → Search → Discovery → Practice
And sometimes there is another stage:
Islam → further questioning → comparison between Sunni and Shia traditions → Shi‘ism
For others, it is:
Cultural Shia identity → religious awakening → conscious Shia practice
The researcher therefore describes conversion as a deeply personal but socially embedded process, shaped by intellectual interests, personal relationships, historical circumstances, available religious resources and, in some cases, political ideas.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📌 One important caveat
This is not a statistical survey of all Russian converts.
The study focuses largely on publicly active or well-known converts and people who were able to articulate their experiences.
Ordinary converts — including people who enter Shi‘ism through marriage, family relationships or gradual socialization — are much harder to observe.
So the findings should be understood as illustrative rather than statistically representative.
And this makes the study perhaps even more interesting:
We are not looking at “how many” people converted.
We are looking at how people explain why they converted.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 THE ORIGINAL ACADEMIC PAPER
Akif Tahiiev
“Becoming a Shia in Russia: Reasons for Conversion to Shi‘ism in Russia”
Anthropological Journal of European Cultures
Vol. 34, No. 2 (2025), pp. 92–117
DOI: 10.3167/ajec.2025.340207
🔗 Full paper:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/399917744_Becoming_a_Shia_in_Russia_Reasons_for_Conversion_to_Shi%27ism_in_Russia
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
💭 Perhaps the most fascinating question is not simply why people become Muslim — but why, after discovering Islam, some continue searching until they arrive at Shi‘ism.
ResearchGate
(PDF) Becoming a Shia in Russia: Reasons for Conversion to Shi‘ism in Russia
PDF | The article examines the underexplored phenomenon of conversion to Shia Islam in Russia, where Shias form a small minority within the Muslim... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate
🇷🇺 Twelver Shi‘ism in Russia: A Small Minority with a Much Bigger Story
What does Shia Islam actually look like inside contemporary Russia?
A new peer-reviewed study published in August 2026 offers one of the most up-to-date academic overviews of Twelver Shi‘ism in Russia.
The study, “Twelver Shiʿism in Russia,” was written by Akif Tahiiev of Goethe University Frankfurt and published in the Database of Religious History.
🔗 Read the full study:
https://zenodo.org/records/21807483
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
☪️ Three different communities
One of the most interesting points is that Russian Shi‘ism cannot simply be reduced to “Iranian immigrants” or “Azerbaijani Muslims.”
The study identifies three overlapping communities:
1️⃣ Indigenous and long-established Shias — particularly Azerbaijanis and Lezgins in Dagestan and major Russian cities.
2️⃣ Migrant communities — including people from Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Iran and other countries with significant Shia populations.
3️⃣ Converts to Shi‘ism — people from Slavic, Turkic and other ethnic backgrounds who have adopted Twelver Shi‘ism.
Together, these groups form a much more complicated religious landscape than the usual image of “Muslims in Russia” suggests.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🗺️ The story begins in the Caucasus
Shi‘ism is not entirely a new arrival in Russia.
There is a historically rooted Shia presence in southern Dagestan, especially around the city of Derbent.
But during the post-Soviet period, Shi‘ism expanded beyond these traditional areas.
Today, Shia communities can also be found in major urban centres such as:
📍 Moscow
📍 Saint Petersburg
📍 Yekaterinburg
Migration played an important role — but so did religious revival and conversion.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🇷🇺 What does it mean to be Shia in Russia?
Here the study becomes particularly fascinating.
A Shia Muslim in Russia may simultaneously belong to several different social worlds:
Russian + Muslim + Shia
or
Azerbaijani + Russian + Shia
or
convert + Russian + Shia
These identities do not necessarily contradict one another.
In fact, the author argues that Russian Shi‘ism is shaped by the interaction between religion, ethnicity, nationality and migration.
This creates forms of Shi‘ism that are distinctly local.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🔍 Shi‘ism is often seen through ethnicity
One of the problems facing Russian Shias is that people do not always recognize Shi‘ism as a distinct religious identity.
Instead, Shias may simply be perceived as:
🇦🇿 Azerbaijani
🇮🇷 Iranian
🌍 foreign migrants
In other words, people may notice their ethnicity before their theology.
This is especially significant because Russia's Muslim population is overwhelmingly associated with Sunni traditions.
Shi‘ism therefore occupies a more complicated position.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 And then there are the converts
Conversion is one of the three major processes shaping contemporary Russian Shi‘ism.
The converts are not simply one ethnic group.
They can come from Slavic, Turkic and other backgrounds.
Some enter Islam and subsequently discover Shi‘ism.
Others move directly from Christianity, atheism or another worldview toward Twelver Shi‘ism.
And some people from traditionally Shia ethnic backgrounds undergo another kind of transformation:
They grow up identifying culturally as Shia but later become religiously observant and consciously committed to Shi‘ism.
The author's earlier research specifically examined these conversion trajectories and found that intellectual inquiry and spiritual searching were particularly important among the converts studied.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 A Russian-language Shia world
Another important part of the story is knowledge production.
For a religious minority, books, translations, websites, videos, podcasts and social media can become essential.
This is particularly important for Russian-speaking Shias because much of the traditional Shia scholarly literature is not originally available in Russian.
What does Shia Islam actually look like inside contemporary Russia?
A new peer-reviewed study published in August 2026 offers one of the most up-to-date academic overviews of Twelver Shi‘ism in Russia.
The study, “Twelver Shiʿism in Russia,” was written by Akif Tahiiev of Goethe University Frankfurt and published in the Database of Religious History.
🔗 Read the full study:
https://zenodo.org/records/21807483
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
☪️ Three different communities
One of the most interesting points is that Russian Shi‘ism cannot simply be reduced to “Iranian immigrants” or “Azerbaijani Muslims.”
The study identifies three overlapping communities:
1️⃣ Indigenous and long-established Shias — particularly Azerbaijanis and Lezgins in Dagestan and major Russian cities.
2️⃣ Migrant communities — including people from Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Iran and other countries with significant Shia populations.
3️⃣ Converts to Shi‘ism — people from Slavic, Turkic and other ethnic backgrounds who have adopted Twelver Shi‘ism.
Together, these groups form a much more complicated religious landscape than the usual image of “Muslims in Russia” suggests.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🗺️ The story begins in the Caucasus
Shi‘ism is not entirely a new arrival in Russia.
There is a historically rooted Shia presence in southern Dagestan, especially around the city of Derbent.
But during the post-Soviet period, Shi‘ism expanded beyond these traditional areas.
Today, Shia communities can also be found in major urban centres such as:
📍 Moscow
📍 Saint Petersburg
📍 Yekaterinburg
Migration played an important role — but so did religious revival and conversion.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🇷🇺 What does it mean to be Shia in Russia?
Here the study becomes particularly fascinating.
A Shia Muslim in Russia may simultaneously belong to several different social worlds:
Russian + Muslim + Shia
or
Azerbaijani + Russian + Shia
or
convert + Russian + Shia
These identities do not necessarily contradict one another.
In fact, the author argues that Russian Shi‘ism is shaped by the interaction between religion, ethnicity, nationality and migration.
This creates forms of Shi‘ism that are distinctly local.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🔍 Shi‘ism is often seen through ethnicity
One of the problems facing Russian Shias is that people do not always recognize Shi‘ism as a distinct religious identity.
Instead, Shias may simply be perceived as:
🇦🇿 Azerbaijani
🇮🇷 Iranian
🌍 foreign migrants
In other words, people may notice their ethnicity before their theology.
This is especially significant because Russia's Muslim population is overwhelmingly associated with Sunni traditions.
Shi‘ism therefore occupies a more complicated position.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 And then there are the converts
Conversion is one of the three major processes shaping contemporary Russian Shi‘ism.
The converts are not simply one ethnic group.
They can come from Slavic, Turkic and other backgrounds.
Some enter Islam and subsequently discover Shi‘ism.
Others move directly from Christianity, atheism or another worldview toward Twelver Shi‘ism.
And some people from traditionally Shia ethnic backgrounds undergo another kind of transformation:
They grow up identifying culturally as Shia but later become religiously observant and consciously committed to Shi‘ism.
The author's earlier research specifically examined these conversion trajectories and found that intellectual inquiry and spiritual searching were particularly important among the converts studied.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 A Russian-language Shia world
Another important part of the story is knowledge production.
For a religious minority, books, translations, websites, videos, podcasts and social media can become essential.
This is particularly important for Russian-speaking Shias because much of the traditional Shia scholarly literature is not originally available in Russian.
Zenodo
Twelver Shiʿism in Russia
Twelver Shiʿism (Jaʿfari or Ithna ʿAshari) is the predominant branch of Shiʿi Islam globally, constituting the majority tradition in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, and Azerbaijan. In Russia, Shiʿi Muslims are a small subset of estimated 20 million local Muslims, who…
The development of Russian-language Shia literature has therefore become part of the process of building a religious community.
In other words:
Translation is not merely translation.
It can become a form of community-building.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌐 The digital Shia community
This becomes even more important in the post-Soviet environment.
A person living hundreds or thousands of kilometres away from a Shia religious centre can now access:
📚 books
🎙 lectures
🎥 videos
🕌 religious lessons
📖 Qur'an translations
📜 hadith
💬 online discussions
Digital media therefore helps overcome one of the biggest problems faced by a small religious minority:
geographical isolation.
The Russian-speaking Shia community does not have to exist only inside a mosque.
Part of it exists online.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🇷🇺🇮🇷 Russia and Iran
The relationship between Russia and Iran adds another layer.
Greater political and economic cooperation between Moscow and Tehran has increased the visibility of Shi‘ism in Russia.
But the study makes an important distinction:
Greater visibility does not mean formal recognition.
According to the research, Russian Shia communities remain outside the country's dominant institutional framework of “traditional Islam,” which is largely organized through Sunni-dominated Spiritual Boards of Muslims.
So Shi‘ism can become more visible without necessarily becoming institutionally equal.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
⚠️ A complicated relationship with the state
The study also notes that certain Shia networks are viewed with suspicion by Russian security authorities, particularly when they are perceived as having links to foreign religious actors.
This creates a complicated environment.
On one hand:
📈 greater visibility
🤝 stronger Russia–Iran relations
🌐 growing transnational connections
On the other:
🔎 state monitoring
🏛 limited institutional representation
⚖️ an ambiguous position within Russia's religious framework
The result is neither complete isolation nor full institutional integration.
It is something much more complicated.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🧩 So, how large is Russian Shi‘ism?
This is where caution is necessary.
The study itself points out that estimates of the Shia population vary considerably.
Some older claims have suggested very large numbers, while other estimates are much lower.
The author warns that activists from different religious communities may have incentives to overestimate their numbers, while other observers may underestimate them.
There is therefore no simple, reliable census figure for the number of Twelver Shias in Russia.
And this is an important lesson:
A religious community can be socially significant without having a precise population number.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🔎 The bigger picture
The Russian case tells us something important about the spread of Shi‘ism outside the traditional Shia heartlands.
Shi‘ism does not move only through migration.
It also moves through:
📚 books
🎓 education
🤝 personal relationships
🕌 religious institutions
🌐 digital media
🔍 individual searches
🧠 intellectual conversion
And once it arrives somewhere new, it does not simply reproduce an Iranian, Iraqi or Azerbaijani model.
It interacts with the local society.
Russia is therefore developing its own forms of contemporary Twelver Shi‘ism.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
💭 Perhaps the most interesting question is this:
What happens when a global religious tradition enters a society where it is neither the majority nor completely foreign?
Russia offers a fascinating case study.
Here, Shi‘ism is simultaneously an inherited identity, a migrant religion, a minority tradition — and, for some people, a newly discovered faith.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 THE ORIGINAL STUDY
Akif Tahiiev
“Twelver Shiʿism in Russia”
The Database of Religious History, 2026
Published: August 5, 2026
🔗 Full study:
https://zenodo.org/records/21807483
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21807483
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In other words:
Translation is not merely translation.
It can become a form of community-building.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌐 The digital Shia community
This becomes even more important in the post-Soviet environment.
A person living hundreds or thousands of kilometres away from a Shia religious centre can now access:
📚 books
🎙 lectures
🎥 videos
🕌 religious lessons
📖 Qur'an translations
📜 hadith
💬 online discussions
Digital media therefore helps overcome one of the biggest problems faced by a small religious minority:
geographical isolation.
The Russian-speaking Shia community does not have to exist only inside a mosque.
Part of it exists online.
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🇷🇺🇮🇷 Russia and Iran
The relationship between Russia and Iran adds another layer.
Greater political and economic cooperation between Moscow and Tehran has increased the visibility of Shi‘ism in Russia.
But the study makes an important distinction:
Greater visibility does not mean formal recognition.
According to the research, Russian Shia communities remain outside the country's dominant institutional framework of “traditional Islam,” which is largely organized through Sunni-dominated Spiritual Boards of Muslims.
So Shi‘ism can become more visible without necessarily becoming institutionally equal.
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⚠️ A complicated relationship with the state
The study also notes that certain Shia networks are viewed with suspicion by Russian security authorities, particularly when they are perceived as having links to foreign religious actors.
This creates a complicated environment.
On one hand:
📈 greater visibility
🤝 stronger Russia–Iran relations
🌐 growing transnational connections
On the other:
🔎 state monitoring
🏛 limited institutional representation
⚖️ an ambiguous position within Russia's religious framework
The result is neither complete isolation nor full institutional integration.
It is something much more complicated.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🧩 So, how large is Russian Shi‘ism?
This is where caution is necessary.
The study itself points out that estimates of the Shia population vary considerably.
Some older claims have suggested very large numbers, while other estimates are much lower.
The author warns that activists from different religious communities may have incentives to overestimate their numbers, while other observers may underestimate them.
There is therefore no simple, reliable census figure for the number of Twelver Shias in Russia.
And this is an important lesson:
A religious community can be socially significant without having a precise population number.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🔎 The bigger picture
The Russian case tells us something important about the spread of Shi‘ism outside the traditional Shia heartlands.
Shi‘ism does not move only through migration.
It also moves through:
📚 books
🎓 education
🤝 personal relationships
🕌 religious institutions
🌐 digital media
🔍 individual searches
🧠 intellectual conversion
And once it arrives somewhere new, it does not simply reproduce an Iranian, Iraqi or Azerbaijani model.
It interacts with the local society.
Russia is therefore developing its own forms of contemporary Twelver Shi‘ism.
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💭 Perhaps the most interesting question is this:
What happens when a global religious tradition enters a society where it is neither the majority nor completely foreign?
Russia offers a fascinating case study.
Here, Shi‘ism is simultaneously an inherited identity, a migrant religion, a minority tradition — and, for some people, a newly discovered faith.
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📖 THE ORIGINAL STUDY
Akif Tahiiev
“Twelver Shiʿism in Russia”
The Database of Religious History, 2026
Published: August 5, 2026
🔗 Full study:
https://zenodo.org/records/21807483
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21807483
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Zenodo
Twelver Shiʿism in Russia
Twelver Shiʿism (Jaʿfari or Ithna ʿAshari) is the predominant branch of Shiʿi Islam globally, constituting the majority tradition in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, and Azerbaijan. In Russia, Shiʿi Muslims are a small subset of estimated 20 million local Muslims, who…
This study is particularly interesting when read alongside Tahiiev's 2025 research on conversion to Shi‘ism in Russia — one examines the people who become Shia, while the other examines the wider community they become part of.
🆔 @rahyafte_en
🆔 @rahyafte_en
🧭 From Atheism to Twelver Shi‘ism
One person's journey from disbelief, to belief in God, to Islam — and finally to Shi‘ism.
In May 2026, a Reddit user introduced themselves with a remarkable description:
They then opened an AMA — an “Ask Me Anything” — answering questions about their journey from atheism to Islam and eventually to Twelver Shi‘ism.
This is not an academic study or a journalistic investigation.
It is a personal testimony.
And that is precisely what makes it interesting.
🔗 Original AMA:
https://www.reddit.com/r/religion/comments/1toicd6/i_am_a_former_atheist_who_has_converted_to/
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🧠 The first question: Does God exist?
The person says they were raised in a secular environment and remained an atheist until their teenage years.
Their change did not happen because of one dramatic event.
When asked what changed their mind about God's existence, they gave a surprisingly simple answer:
The consistency and order they perceived in the universe.
They also said they became convinced that the Qur'an's challenge could not simply be dismissed.
In other words, their path began with a fundamental question:
Is there actually a God?
And for them, the answer gradually changed from no to yes.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌌 Not one sudden revelation
One of the most revealing answers came when they were asked whether there had been a particular moment when they realized God exists.
Their answer?
No single moment.
Instead, they described it as a gradual realization.
This is an important distinction.
Conversion stories are sometimes portrayed as dramatic:
⚡ one experience
⚡ one conversation
⚡ one miracle
⚡ one emotional moment
But this person's account was different.
It was more like a process:
Doubt → questioning → reflection → belief
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
☪️ Why Islam?
Once convinced that God exists, another question emerged:
Which religion?
The person says that Islam made sense to them because of its emphasis on the absolute unity of God.
Tawhid became central to their understanding of Islam.
Rather than seeing Islam as something they simply inherited from family or culture, they describe reaching it through a personal search.
This is especially significant because they had grown up without a Muslim religious background.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🔍 But why Shi‘ism?
This is where the story becomes particularly relevant to our series.
The person did not simply stop at:
“I believe in God.”
Or even:
“I believe in Islam.”
They continued asking:
Which understanding of Islam is theologically correct?
Their answer was Twelver Shi‘ism.
They specifically mentioned several concepts that became important during their study:
📜 Ghadir Khumm
👑 Imamate
📖 Hadith al-Thaqalayn
They said that as they researched these subjects, they found the Shia understanding increasingly compelling.
So their journey can be summarized as:
Atheism
⬇️
Belief in God
⬇️
Islam
⬇️
Study of Islamic traditions
⬇️
Twelver Shi‘ism
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 The interesting part: the search didn't stop after Islam
One of the strongest themes in this testimony is continued questioning.
The person could have stopped after becoming Muslim.
Instead, they continued researching different interpretations of Islam.
This resembles a pattern found in the academic research we examined earlier.
Akif Tahiiev's 2025 study of conversion to Shi‘ism in Russia found that some converts moved through several stages of intellectual and spiritual inquiry before arriving at Shi‘ism. The study identifies intellectual inquiry and spiritual searching among the major motivations reported by the converts interviewed.
The Reddit testimony is obviously only one person's experience.
But the basic structure is strikingly similar:
Question → investigation → comparison → conviction
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🕌 What was the hardest part?
One person's journey from disbelief, to belief in God, to Islam — and finally to Shi‘ism.
In May 2026, a Reddit user introduced themselves with a remarkable description:
“I am a former atheist who has converted to Twelver Shi'a Islam.”
They then opened an AMA — an “Ask Me Anything” — answering questions about their journey from atheism to Islam and eventually to Twelver Shi‘ism.
This is not an academic study or a journalistic investigation.
It is a personal testimony.
And that is precisely what makes it interesting.
🔗 Original AMA:
https://www.reddit.com/r/religion/comments/1toicd6/i_am_a_former_atheist_who_has_converted_to/
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🧠 The first question: Does God exist?
The person says they were raised in a secular environment and remained an atheist until their teenage years.
Their change did not happen because of one dramatic event.
When asked what changed their mind about God's existence, they gave a surprisingly simple answer:
The consistency and order they perceived in the universe.
They also said they became convinced that the Qur'an's challenge could not simply be dismissed.
In other words, their path began with a fundamental question:
Is there actually a God?
And for them, the answer gradually changed from no to yes.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌌 Not one sudden revelation
One of the most revealing answers came when they were asked whether there had been a particular moment when they realized God exists.
Their answer?
No single moment.
Instead, they described it as a gradual realization.
This is an important distinction.
Conversion stories are sometimes portrayed as dramatic:
⚡ one experience
⚡ one conversation
⚡ one miracle
⚡ one emotional moment
But this person's account was different.
It was more like a process:
Doubt → questioning → reflection → belief
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
☪️ Why Islam?
Once convinced that God exists, another question emerged:
Which religion?
The person says that Islam made sense to them because of its emphasis on the absolute unity of God.
Tawhid became central to their understanding of Islam.
Rather than seeing Islam as something they simply inherited from family or culture, they describe reaching it through a personal search.
This is especially significant because they had grown up without a Muslim religious background.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🔍 But why Shi‘ism?
This is where the story becomes particularly relevant to our series.
The person did not simply stop at:
“I believe in God.”
Or even:
“I believe in Islam.”
They continued asking:
Which understanding of Islam is theologically correct?
Their answer was Twelver Shi‘ism.
They specifically mentioned several concepts that became important during their study:
📜 Ghadir Khumm
👑 Imamate
📖 Hadith al-Thaqalayn
They said that as they researched these subjects, they found the Shia understanding increasingly compelling.
So their journey can be summarized as:
Atheism
⬇️
Belief in God
⬇️
Islam
⬇️
Study of Islamic traditions
⬇️
Twelver Shi‘ism
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 The interesting part: the search didn't stop after Islam
One of the strongest themes in this testimony is continued questioning.
The person could have stopped after becoming Muslim.
Instead, they continued researching different interpretations of Islam.
This resembles a pattern found in the academic research we examined earlier.
Akif Tahiiev's 2025 study of conversion to Shi‘ism in Russia found that some converts moved through several stages of intellectual and spiritual inquiry before arriving at Shi‘ism. The study identifies intellectual inquiry and spiritual searching among the major motivations reported by the converts interviewed.
The Reddit testimony is obviously only one person's experience.
But the basic structure is strikingly similar:
Question → investigation → comparison → conviction
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🕌 What was the hardest part?
Reddit
From the religion community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the religion community
Interestingly, when asked about the greatest challenge of becoming a Twelver Shia, the person did not mention learning Arabic, attending a mosque or changing their daily lifestyle.
They identified something much more fundamental:
Going from having no belief in God to having an absolute belief in God.
That is a much bigger psychological and philosophical transition than simply changing religious affiliation.
For someone raised as an atheist, the starting point is not:
“Which religion is true?”
It can be:
“Is there anything beyond the material world at all?”
Only after that question is answered does the next one become possible.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🧩 What can we actually learn from this story?
We should be careful not to turn one person's experience into a general rule.
This is a single self-reported testimony, posted anonymously on Reddit.
It cannot tell us how common this pathway is.
But it does give us a fascinating example of one possible route:
Atheism → Theism → Islam → Shi‘ism
And it shows that conversion can involve multiple separate intellectual decisions rather than one single leap.
First:
“I believe God exists.”
Then:
“I believe Islam is true.”
And finally:
“I believe Twelver Shi‘ism best explains Islam.”
Three different questions.
Three different stages of the journey.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌱 A second recent example
Interestingly, another Reddit testimony from May 2025 describes a similar journey.
That person says they were raised by atheist parents and began searching for spiritual answers as a teenager.
After exploring several religions, they came to believe in monotheism and eventually Islam.
They then chose Twelver Shi‘ism, mentioning the stories of Sayyidah Fatimah, the Twelve Successors, Karbala, and an interest in Iranian culture among the factors that drew them toward Shi‘ism.
Again, this is an individual testimony — not statistical evidence.
But having two recent, independent personal accounts with a similar broad structure is noteworthy.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
💭 Perhaps the most interesting question isn't “Why did they become Muslim?”
It's this:
Why didn't their search end with belief in God?
For these individuals, becoming convinced that God exists was only the beginning.
They continued searching for answers about:
Who is God?
What is revelation?
Why Islam?
Who should lead the Muslim community?
What happened after the Prophet Muhammad?
What is the significance of Ghadir Khumm?
What is the role of the Ahl al-Bayt?
And eventually, their answers led them toward Twelver Shi‘ism.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📌 SOURCE
Personal AMA published on Reddit:
May 26, 2026
🔗 Full testimony and Q&A:
https://www.reddit.com/r/religion/comments/1toicd6/i_am_a_former_atheist_who_has_converted_to/
A related 2025 testimony:
https://www.reddit.com/r/progressive_islam/comments/1kojtwh/i_was_raised_atheist_and_that_was_what_i_believed/
📚 For academic context:
Akif Tahiiev, “Becoming a Shia in Russia: Reasons for Conversion to Shi‘ism in Russia”, Anthropological Journal of European Cultures, 2025.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/399917744_Becoming_a_Shia_in_Russia_Reasons_for_Conversion_to_Shi%27ism_in_Russia
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Sometimes a religious journey doesn't begin with faith.
Sometimes it begins with a question.
And sometimes one question leads to another — until a person finds an answer they are willing to build their life around.
#Islam #ShiaIslam #Shiism #TwelverShia #Conversion #Atheism #Faith #IslamicStudies #AhlulBayt
🆔 @rahyafte_en
They identified something much more fundamental:
Going from having no belief in God to having an absolute belief in God.
That is a much bigger psychological and philosophical transition than simply changing religious affiliation.
For someone raised as an atheist, the starting point is not:
“Which religion is true?”
It can be:
“Is there anything beyond the material world at all?”
Only after that question is answered does the next one become possible.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🧩 What can we actually learn from this story?
We should be careful not to turn one person's experience into a general rule.
This is a single self-reported testimony, posted anonymously on Reddit.
It cannot tell us how common this pathway is.
But it does give us a fascinating example of one possible route:
Atheism → Theism → Islam → Shi‘ism
And it shows that conversion can involve multiple separate intellectual decisions rather than one single leap.
First:
“I believe God exists.”
Then:
“I believe Islam is true.”
And finally:
“I believe Twelver Shi‘ism best explains Islam.”
Three different questions.
Three different stages of the journey.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌱 A second recent example
Interestingly, another Reddit testimony from May 2025 describes a similar journey.
That person says they were raised by atheist parents and began searching for spiritual answers as a teenager.
After exploring several religions, they came to believe in monotheism and eventually Islam.
They then chose Twelver Shi‘ism, mentioning the stories of Sayyidah Fatimah, the Twelve Successors, Karbala, and an interest in Iranian culture among the factors that drew them toward Shi‘ism.
Again, this is an individual testimony — not statistical evidence.
But having two recent, independent personal accounts with a similar broad structure is noteworthy.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
💭 Perhaps the most interesting question isn't “Why did they become Muslim?”
It's this:
Why didn't their search end with belief in God?
For these individuals, becoming convinced that God exists was only the beginning.
They continued searching for answers about:
Who is God?
What is revelation?
Why Islam?
Who should lead the Muslim community?
What happened after the Prophet Muhammad?
What is the significance of Ghadir Khumm?
What is the role of the Ahl al-Bayt?
And eventually, their answers led them toward Twelver Shi‘ism.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📌 SOURCE
Personal AMA published on Reddit:
May 26, 2026
🔗 Full testimony and Q&A:
https://www.reddit.com/r/religion/comments/1toicd6/i_am_a_former_atheist_who_has_converted_to/
A related 2025 testimony:
https://www.reddit.com/r/progressive_islam/comments/1kojtwh/i_was_raised_atheist_and_that_was_what_i_believed/
📚 For academic context:
Akif Tahiiev, “Becoming a Shia in Russia: Reasons for Conversion to Shi‘ism in Russia”, Anthropological Journal of European Cultures, 2025.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/399917744_Becoming_a_Shia_in_Russia_Reasons_for_Conversion_to_Shi%27ism_in_Russia
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Sometimes a religious journey doesn't begin with faith.
Sometimes it begins with a question.
And sometimes one question leads to another — until a person finds an answer they are willing to build their life around.
#Islam #ShiaIslam #Shiism #TwelverShia #Conversion #Atheism #Faith #IslamicStudies #AhlulBayt
🆔 @rahyafte_en
Reddit
From the religion community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the religion community
🔴 The Telegraph:Trump “weighing nuclear attack on Iran” as peace deal expires.
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
🔗 https://t.me/asrzohur110/3442
🆔 @ASRZOHUR110
🆔 @rahyafte_en
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
🔗 https://t.me/asrzohur110/3442
🆔 @ASRZOHUR110
🆔 @rahyafte_en
🔴 «Iran & Japan» — This Time, a Comparison Over Nuclear Bombs
✍️ Mostafa Amiri
🔻 Mark Levin, a staunch Trump ally, had previously said:
▪️ Levin has now drawn a controversial comparison between Iran and Imperial Japan during World War II, arguing that the Iranian regime will not surrender.
In his remarks, the prominent Fox News commentator said:
He then referred to America's war against Japan:
Levin continued:
However, he immediately added:
▪️ Thus, Levin did not explicitly call for dropping nuclear bombs on Iran. Rather, he invoked the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a historical analogy for confronting an enemy he believes will not surrender.
▪️ Mark Levin is also the same commentator who, at a White House event, referred to Donald Trump as “the first Jewish president in American history.”
🔻 With the rhetoric surrounding Iran becoming increasingly confrontational, references to the atomic bombings of Japan have now entered the discourse of figures close to Trump.
📌 In the next post, this channel will introduce the “hawks” within Trump’s administration and examine their positions on Iran.
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
https://t.me/asrzohur110/3443
🆔 @ASRZOHUR110
🆔 @rahyafte_en
✍️ Mostafa Amiri
🔻 Mark Levin, a staunch Trump ally, had previously said:
“If we don't overthrow the Iranian regime, humanity will never forgive us.”
▪️ Levin has now drawn a controversial comparison between Iran and Imperial Japan during World War II, arguing that the Iranian regime will not surrender.
In his remarks, the prominent Fox News commentator said:
“Why is it so difficult for [people to understand that] the Iranian regime is not going to surrender? It is never going to surrender.”
He then referred to America's war against Japan:
“You know, we've been in worse before. We fought enemies that wouldn't surrender either. Remember the kamikazes? Remember Japan?”
Levin continued:
“Remember the emperor was like a demigod to the people back then. Tojo was very stubborn, very headstrong, and unfortunately, we had to drop two atomic bombs until they would surrender.”
However, he immediately added:
“Obviously, we're not going to do that now, but I'm talking about an enemy that...”
▪️ Thus, Levin did not explicitly call for dropping nuclear bombs on Iran. Rather, he invoked the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a historical analogy for confronting an enemy he believes will not surrender.
▪️ Mark Levin is also the same commentator who, at a White House event, referred to Donald Trump as “the first Jewish president in American history.”
🔻 With the rhetoric surrounding Iran becoming increasingly confrontational, references to the atomic bombings of Japan have now entered the discourse of figures close to Trump.
📌 In the next post, this channel will introduce the “hawks” within Trump’s administration and examine their positions on Iran.
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
https://t.me/asrzohur110/3443
🆔 @ASRZOHUR110
🆔 @rahyafte_en
Telegram
عصر ظهور | ASRZOHUR
🔴 مقایسه «ایران و ژاپن» اینبار در حمله اتمی
✍️ مصطفی امیری
🔻مارک لوین -دوست و یار غار ترامپ- که پیش از این گفته بود: «اگر حکومت ایران را سرنگون نکنیم، بشریت ما را نخواهد بخشید».
▪️اخیراً مارک لوین در افاضاتی جدید و بعد از ناامیدی در سقوط انقلاب ایران،…
✍️ مصطفی امیری
🔻مارک لوین -دوست و یار غار ترامپ- که پیش از این گفته بود: «اگر حکومت ایران را سرنگون نکنیم، بشریت ما را نخواهد بخشید».
▪️اخیراً مارک لوین در افاضاتی جدید و بعد از ناامیدی در سقوط انقلاب ایران،…
🔴 Trump’s “Cabinet Hawks”
✍️ Mostafa Amiri
🔻In addition to Mark Levin, the prominent Fox News commentator introduced in the channel’s previous post, the Hebrew-language newspaper Haaretz has identified a list of Trump administration “hawks” who are strongly supportive of confrontation and war with Iran.
The list includes:
▪️ Marco Rubio — U.S. Secretary of State and a prominent figure within the evangelical movement.
▪️ Pete Hegseth — U.S. Secretary of War and a prominent supporter of Christian Zionism.
▪️ Miriam Adelson — widow of Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and a major financial supporter of Donald Trump.
▪️ John Hagee — prominent evangelical pastor and a leading figure in the Christian Zionist movement.
▪️ Mike Huckabee — U.S. Ambassador to Israel and a former evangelical pastor.
📌 Remember these names.
But there is one woman’s name missing from this list.
🔻 The channel will introduce her and examine her role in the next post.
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
https://t.me/asrzohur110/3446
🆔 @ASRZOHUR110
🆔 @rahyafte_en
✍️ Mostafa Amiri
🔻In addition to Mark Levin, the prominent Fox News commentator introduced in the channel’s previous post, the Hebrew-language newspaper Haaretz has identified a list of Trump administration “hawks” who are strongly supportive of confrontation and war with Iran.
The list includes:
▪️ Marco Rubio — U.S. Secretary of State and a prominent figure within the evangelical movement.
▪️ Pete Hegseth — U.S. Secretary of War and a prominent supporter of Christian Zionism.
▪️ Miriam Adelson — widow of Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and a major financial supporter of Donald Trump.
▪️ John Hagee — prominent evangelical pastor and a leading figure in the Christian Zionist movement.
▪️ Mike Huckabee — U.S. Ambassador to Israel and a former evangelical pastor.
📌 Remember these names.
But there is one woman’s name missing from this list.
🔻 The channel will introduce her and examine her role in the next post.
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
https://t.me/asrzohur110/3446
🆔 @ASRZOHUR110
🆔 @rahyafte_en
Telegram
عصر ظهور | ASRZOHUR
🔴 کلیکسیون «شاهینهای کابینه» ترامپ
✍️ مصطفی امیری
🔻علاوه بر مارک لوین، تحلیلگر مشهور شبکه فاکس نیوز که در مطلب قبلی کانال معرف حضورتان است.
نشریه عبری هاآرتص، لیست «شاهینهای کابینه» ترامپ که بشدت موافق جنگ با ایران هستند را ردیف کرده و معرفی میکند:…
✍️ مصطفی امیری
🔻علاوه بر مارک لوین، تحلیلگر مشهور شبکه فاکس نیوز که در مطلب قبلی کانال معرف حضورتان است.
نشریه عبری هاآرتص، لیست «شاهینهای کابینه» ترامپ که بشدت موافق جنگ با ایران هستند را ردیف کرده و معرفی میکند:…
🔴 Trump’s New Favorite?
🔻 Trump brings Natalie Harp onto the stage and welcomes her with a gentle kiss.
The woman you see here has become the subject of considerable speculation and controversy surrounding her unusually close relationship with the president.
Who is Natalie Harp?
Harp previously worked for the conservative network One America News (OAN), where she hosted her own program. She would sometimes end her show with a Bible verse and at other times with a quote from Donald Trump.
Today, she officially serves as Special Assistant to the President and Executive Assistant to the President.
🔻 Her constant proximity to Trump has attracted growing attention. She is frequently seen with him at golf outings, foreign trips, and in the Oval Office.
She was also among the very few aides who accompanied Trump during a secret aircraft transfer in Turkey, when he was moved from Air Force One to another aircraft amid security concerns reportedly linked to threats from Iran.
▪️ Harp is also known for her unusually close working relationship with Trump. She has been described as his “human printer,” providing him with printed news and social-media material, and she has played a role in managing and posting content on his Truth Social account.
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https://t.me/asrzohur110/3447
🆔 @ASRZOHUR110
🆔 @rahyafte_en
🔻 Trump brings Natalie Harp onto the stage and welcomes her with a gentle kiss.
The woman you see here has become the subject of considerable speculation and controversy surrounding her unusually close relationship with the president.
Who is Natalie Harp?
Harp previously worked for the conservative network One America News (OAN), where she hosted her own program. She would sometimes end her show with a Bible verse and at other times with a quote from Donald Trump.
Today, she officially serves as Special Assistant to the President and Executive Assistant to the President.
🔻 Her constant proximity to Trump has attracted growing attention. She is frequently seen with him at golf outings, foreign trips, and in the Oval Office.
She was also among the very few aides who accompanied Trump during a secret aircraft transfer in Turkey, when he was moved from Air Force One to another aircraft amid security concerns reportedly linked to threats from Iran.
▪️ Harp is also known for her unusually close working relationship with Trump. She has been described as his “human printer,” providing him with printed news and social-media material, and she has played a role in managing and posting content on his Truth Social account.
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
https://t.me/asrzohur110/3447
🆔 @ASRZOHUR110
🆔 @rahyafte_en
🔴 Why Is Trump’s “Lover” So Important to Us Iranians?
✍️ Mostafa Amiri
🔻 Natalie Harp, Donald Trump’s executive assistant, is not merely the subject of personal rumors; she is also one of the important channels through which hard-line, pro-Israel positions are conveyed to Trump.
1️⃣ Who Is Natalie Harp?
She has a background at the conservative network OAN (One America News Network), where she would sometimes end her program with a Bible verse and at other times with a quote from Trump.
She now officially holds the title of “Special Assistant to the President and Executive Assistant to the President.”
2️⃣ Harp’s Extreme Loyalty and Romantic Language
Her constant proximity to Trump — on the golf course, during foreign trips, in the Oval Office, and even during sensitive security operations, such as the secret aircraft switch in Turkey, when Harp accompanied Trump onto the second aircraft.
Trump is also said to be very fond of her.[1]
There have been rumors that Harp controls Trump’s Truth Social account and writes many of his controversial posts.
The Independent reports that the woman who is always by Trump’s side helps prepare his social-media posts and even exchanges messages with world leaders on Trump’s behalf.[2]
3️⃣ Natalie Harp’s Explicit Positions on Israel
Harp has repeatedly declared:
What she means is the evangelical movement in America.
She actively reposts Christian-Zionist content on social media portraying support for Israel as a manifestation of “the power of God.”
In her posts, she proudly declares things such as:
She presents this as part of her religious identity.
4️⃣ Natalie’s Connection to Laura Loomer and the Anti-Iran Movement
Harp acts as Laura Loomer’s “gatekeeper.”
Loomer, who holds extremely hard-line anti-Iranian and anti-Islamic positions, gains access to Trump through Harp.
This role has allowed the most hard-line pro-Israel voices to reach Trump directly.
The content she publishes portrays Iran as an existential threat and as part of an “Axis of Evil” against Israel and the West.
5️⃣ Trump’s Lover on the Second Aircraft
Euronews reports:
Now, such a person is also Trump’s lover.
Natalie Harp was one of the few people who accompanied Trump onto the second (secure) aircraft, while many officials, cabinet members, and journalists remained on the main aircraft.
Adam Mockler — a social-media personality among younger Americans and a political commentator on CNN roundtable discussions — has addressed the Natalie Harp story in a documentary.[4]
🔻 “Melania” has disappeared, and “Natalie Harp” has taken her place, becoming Trump’s companion in both his public and private life.
Trump’s new lover is the new version of “Epstein” — except female.
✅ P.S.
1. https://t.me/Monji_EmamMahdi/44648
2. https://t.me/Monji_EmamMahdi/44649
3. https://t.me/Monji_EmamMahdi/44650
4. https://t.me/Monji_EmamMahdi/44651
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
https://t.me/asrzohur110/3448
🆔 @ASRZOHUR110
🆔 @rahyafte_en
✍️ Mostafa Amiri
🔻 Natalie Harp, Donald Trump’s executive assistant, is not merely the subject of personal rumors; she is also one of the important channels through which hard-line, pro-Israel positions are conveyed to Trump.
1️⃣ Who Is Natalie Harp?
She has a background at the conservative network OAN (One America News Network), where she would sometimes end her program with a Bible verse and at other times with a quote from Trump.
She now officially holds the title of “Special Assistant to the President and Executive Assistant to the President.”
2️⃣ Harp’s Extreme Loyalty and Romantic Language
Her constant proximity to Trump — on the golf course, during foreign trips, in the Oval Office, and even during sensitive security operations, such as the secret aircraft switch in Turkey, when Harp accompanied Trump onto the second aircraft.
Trump is also said to be very fond of her.[1]
There have been rumors that Harp controls Trump’s Truth Social account and writes many of his controversial posts.
The Independent reports that the woman who is always by Trump’s side helps prepare his social-media posts and even exchanges messages with world leaders on Trump’s behalf.[2]
3️⃣ Natalie Harp’s Explicit Positions on Israel
Harp has repeatedly declared:
“We will all stand with Israel and the Jewish people, because that is what Christians do.”
What she means is the evangelical movement in America.
She actively reposts Christian-Zionist content on social media portraying support for Israel as a manifestation of “the power of God.”
In her posts, she proudly declares things such as:
“I am a Christian and a Zionist.”
She presents this as part of her religious identity.
4️⃣ Natalie’s Connection to Laura Loomer and the Anti-Iran Movement
Harp acts as Laura Loomer’s “gatekeeper.”
Loomer, who holds extremely hard-line anti-Iranian and anti-Islamic positions, gains access to Trump through Harp.
This role has allowed the most hard-line pro-Israel voices to reach Trump directly.
The content she publishes portrays Iran as an existential threat and as part of an “Axis of Evil” against Israel and the West.
5️⃣ Trump’s Lover on the Second Aircraft
Euronews reports:
“The young woman who has now become Trump’s shadow.”[3]
Now, such a person is also Trump’s lover.
Natalie Harp was one of the few people who accompanied Trump onto the second (secure) aircraft, while many officials, cabinet members, and journalists remained on the main aircraft.
Adam Mockler — a social-media personality among younger Americans and a political commentator on CNN roundtable discussions — has addressed the Natalie Harp story in a documentary.[4]
🔻 “Melania” has disappeared, and “Natalie Harp” has taken her place, becoming Trump’s companion in both his public and private life.
Trump’s new lover is the new version of “Epstein” — except female.
✅ P.S.
1. https://t.me/Monji_EmamMahdi/44648
2. https://t.me/Monji_EmamMahdi/44649
3. https://t.me/Monji_EmamMahdi/44650
4. https://t.me/Monji_EmamMahdi/44651
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
https://t.me/asrzohur110/3448
🆔 @ASRZOHUR110
🆔 @rahyafte_en
Telegram
عصر ظهور | ASRZOHUR in اخبار سیاسی ظهور | AkhbarZohuor
🔴 معشوقه جدید ترامپ
🔻ترامپ، «ناتالی هارپ» را به روی صحنه میآورد و با بوسهای ملیح به او خوشآمد میگوید.
این خانم که میبینید. حرف و حدیثها درباره او بسیار فراوان است.
ناتالی هارپ کیست؟
او سابقهای در شبکه راستگرای OAN دارد و برنامه خود را گاهی با…
🔻ترامپ، «ناتالی هارپ» را به روی صحنه میآورد و با بوسهای ملیح به او خوشآمد میگوید.
این خانم که میبینید. حرف و حدیثها درباره او بسیار فراوان است.
ناتالی هارپ کیست؟
او سابقهای در شبکه راستگرای OAN دارد و برنامه خود را گاهی با…
🔴 The “Esther Project” & the “War of Narratives”
💰 $7,000 Per Post in Support of Israel
✍️ Mostafa Amiri
▪️Documents show that Israel is spending large sums of money to strengthen its image on social media.
▪️Through the so-called “Esther Project,” influencers are paid $7,000 for each Instagram post supporting Israel. [1]
🇮🇱 Netanyahu has called social media the “eighth front” of the war [2] and stated that “such projects are a primary tool for Israel in the war of narratives,” considering them an important part of Israel’s media strategy. [3]
🔻 Meanwhile, here in Iran, we are still struggling with the basics.
There are individuals and organizations with access to public funds who spend them on factional and political disputes and create various networks, websites, and other platforms. Yet when it comes to the fundamental ideological and strategic issues that lie at the root of everything, we still remain uncertain and hesitant. [4]
✅ Notes:
1. Israel Is Paying Influencers $7,000 Per Post (Link)
2. Inside Israel’s Esther Project (Link)
3. https://t.me/Monji_EmamMahdi/39325
4. https://t.me/asrzohur110/685
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
https://t.me/asrzohur110/3449
🆔 @ASRZOHUR110
🆔 @rahyafte_en
💰 $7,000 Per Post in Support of Israel
✍️ Mostafa Amiri
▪️Documents show that Israel is spending large sums of money to strengthen its image on social media.
▪️Through the so-called “Esther Project,” influencers are paid $7,000 for each Instagram post supporting Israel. [1]
🇮🇱 Netanyahu has called social media the “eighth front” of the war [2] and stated that “such projects are a primary tool for Israel in the war of narratives,” considering them an important part of Israel’s media strategy. [3]
🔻 Meanwhile, here in Iran, we are still struggling with the basics.
There are individuals and organizations with access to public funds who spend them on factional and political disputes and create various networks, websites, and other platforms. Yet when it comes to the fundamental ideological and strategic issues that lie at the root of everything, we still remain uncertain and hesitant. [4]
✅ Notes:
1. Israel Is Paying Influencers $7,000 Per Post (Link)
2. Inside Israel’s Esther Project (Link)
3. https://t.me/Monji_EmamMahdi/39325
4. https://t.me/asrzohur110/685
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
https://t.me/asrzohur110/3449
🆔 @ASRZOHUR110
🆔 @rahyafte_en
Telegram
مصطفی امیری in اخبار سیاسی ظهور | AkhbarZohuor
✡ نتانیاهو: شبکههای اجتماعی مهمترین ابزار نبرد ما هستند؛ تیکتاک و ایکس باید به دست ما بیفتند!
🚨 بنیامین نتانیاهو در صحبتهایی به اینفلوئنسرهای شبکههای اجتماعی تأکید کرد که شبکههای اجتماعی به مهمترین ابزار جنگی تبدیل شدهاند و باید از آنها برای پیشبرد…
🚨 بنیامین نتانیاهو در صحبتهایی به اینفلوئنسرهای شبکههای اجتماعی تأکید کرد که شبکههای اجتماعی به مهمترین ابزار جنگی تبدیل شدهاند و باید از آنها برای پیشبرد…
Forwarded from Rahyafte (The Guided Ones)
Page 446
Parhizkar
🔴 From Sayyid Ruhollah Razavi to the U.S. Secretary of State
✍️ Mostafa Amiri
🔻 Sayyid Ruhollah Razavi, a native of Kashmir—a land with a strong Shi'a presence—is repeatedly criticized simply because he does not hold Iranian citizenship.
This reminded me of an incident I would like to share.
One of my Lebanese friends once told me:
Surprised, I asked, “Why?”
He replied:
I told him:
“In my view, the current borders between countries are artificial borders, largely created after World War II.”
If it were up to me, I would proudly grant many of you Iranian identity documents and citizenship.
I said:
“Should a certain ‘Wahhabi’ who kills his own countrymen be an Iranian citizen, while you Lebanese, who have spent years fighting in defense of the sanctity of Shi'a Islam, still remain without Iranian citizenship after twenty years?”
There are even foreign nationals who have married Iranians, yet the law still imposes certain restrictions on them.
At the very least, those who constantly speak of Western civilization should take a look at Marco Rubio: his parents were from Cuba, yet today he is the U.S. Secretary of State.
Got the point?
🔻 Homeland means the borders of Shi'a Islam. In Islam, there is no such thing as borders.
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
https://t.me/asrzohur110/3450
🆔 @ASRZOHUR110
🆔 @rahyafte_en
✍️ Mostafa Amiri
🔻 Sayyid Ruhollah Razavi, a native of Kashmir—a land with a strong Shi'a presence—is repeatedly criticized simply because he does not hold Iranian citizenship.
This reminded me of an incident I would like to share.
One of my Lebanese friends once told me:
“You Iranians are very racist.”
Surprised, I asked, “Why?”
He replied:
“We have been living in Iran for more than 20 years, yet we are still treated inappropriately.”
I told him:
“In my view, the current borders between countries are artificial borders, largely created after World War II.”
If it were up to me, I would proudly grant many of you Iranian identity documents and citizenship.
I said:
“Should a certain ‘Wahhabi’ who kills his own countrymen be an Iranian citizen, while you Lebanese, who have spent years fighting in defense of the sanctity of Shi'a Islam, still remain without Iranian citizenship after twenty years?”
There are even foreign nationals who have married Iranians, yet the law still imposes certain restrictions on them.
At the very least, those who constantly speak of Western civilization should take a look at Marco Rubio: his parents were from Cuba, yet today he is the U.S. Secretary of State.
Got the point?
🔻 Homeland means the borders of Shi'a Islam. In Islam, there is no such thing as borders.
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
https://t.me/asrzohur110/3450
🆔 @ASRZOHUR110
🆔 @rahyafte_en