Fathali Shah Qajar's religious policy towards the Sunnis in Iran

The historical sources of Qajar era have made a devout image of Fathali Shah¡ the second Qajarid monarch. His rule over the world's largest Shia country on one hand and Iran's being neighbored by Sunni States on the other hand makes his religious policy towards the Sunnis of great importance which is the goal of this research. Historical sources show that the strategic policy of the Qajar kings including Fathali Shah towards the Sunnis is based on minimal confrontation¡ religious tolerance and attempting to realize Islamic unity which can be called "an interactive policy". Examples such as religious freedom¡ social security¡ the absence of narratives about military conflict with the Sunnis¡ trying to incline the Sunnis of marginal regions to the central government¡ the penetration of Sunni Sufi scholars into the royal court and the relations of the Sunnis with Shia statesmen and scholars support this idea. Possible influence of the Infallible Imams’ narrations urging the Shiites to coexist with the non-Shiites¡ absence of political or religious challenges from the Sunnis¡ the subsidence of radical anti-Sunnism among the Shiites¡ the prevail of the school of Mujtahidin and the gradual disappearance of Akhbari school among Shia scholars¡ the threat of Western colonialism and the necessity of Islamic alliance and preventing the Sunnis of marginal regions from immigrating or joining the rival Sunni neighbors of the Qajar government are the most important reasons of adopting such a policy. The research method is descriptive-analytical and the data gathering method is a desk study.