33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

13 Jesus was the messiah). Islam believes Muhammad was the last prophet sent to earth by God, the last in a long line of prophets, which includes Moses, Abraham, and Jesus among others. Muslims follow five pillars of their faith: testimony, prayer, alms-giving, fasting, and pilgrimage. These pillars, and other tenants of their faith, can give great structure to their lives as some foods, like pork, are forbidden and every Muslim is expected to pray five times a day. However, the level of participation in each of these pillars and to what degree Islam influences an individual's life varies from person to person and community to community. Iran is conservative in how they practice Islam as their laws and government are based on Islamic laws, not laws created by man, known as "sharia law"). Ethnicity Justin Dodge Most of the people in Iran a re ethnic Persians, which is a distinct ethnic group only distantly related to the Arabs and other people of the Middle East today. Outside minor Persian groups, the closest relatives to the Persians are the Turkic people of Central Asia and Azerbaijan. B eyond the majority, there are also large numbers of Azerbaijanis, which is a Turkic group, and the Kurds, who are most closely related to the Persians, but are truly a combination of ethnicities. There are dozens of other minorities in the country, none of whom make up a substantial percentage of the population.