BBC: Growing popularity of Sufism in Iran:
Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, appeared in the eighth century in present-day Iraq.
Iranian Sufis say Islamic mysticism has become more and more popular in the country in recent years.
No official statistics are available, but Heshmatollah Riazi, a former professor of philosophy and theology in Iran, believes two to five million Iranians practice Sufism today – compared to only about 100,000 before Iran’s Islamic Revolution of 1979.
He says Iran is home to the largest number of Sufis in the Middle East.
(Via Robot Wisdom)