A brief overview of the Islamic Republic's missionary organization's core responsibilities

Islamic Missionary Organization: From Revolution to the Second Phase

A brief overview of the Islamic Republic's missionary organization's core responsibilities

Established in July ۱۹۸۱ by order of Ayatollah Khomeini, the Islamic missionary organization serves as a non-governmental cultural pillar under the supervision of Iran’s Supreme Leader. Founded to unify religious and cultural efforts after the Islamic Revolution, it played a crucial role during the Iran–Iraq war and evolved post-war into a nationwide network fostering religious, artistic, and media innovation. Now, in the era of the “second phase of the revolution,” the organization shifts toward empowering public cultural creativity rooted in faith and identity.

تغییر رنگ

تغییر فونت

The Islamic Development Organization is a non-governmental institution established by order of Grand Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in July 1981, and it now operates under the direct supervision of the Supreme Leader.

It was founded after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to unify cultural and religious activities across Iran. Immediately after its inception and at the onset of the imposed Iran-Iraq war, it functioned as a special propaganda and cultural headquarters in war zones to support the combatants. Many of the wartime cultural initiatives were driven by this institution.

After the war, the organization expanded its efforts across the cultural, social, and media spheres nationwide. It established active subsidiaries in fields such as art, media, cinema and television, visual arts, publishing, digital media, alongside its traditional roles in mosques and religious gatherings (heyʾāt). Over the years, it produced numerous works now recognized as landmark events in contemporary Iranian culture and arts.

In recent years, following the Leader’s declaration of a “second phase of the revolution,” the organization has pursued cultural and propagational transformation. Under the leadership of Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Qomi—appointed in 2018 as the youngest head of the organization's history—it has sought to reduce state domination in culture and empower public engagement in religion, culture, and arts. Drawing on deep-rooted Iranian devotion to Islam and Shi’ism, their loyalty to the Ashura epic, and belief in Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.), the organization endeavored to unleash the nation’s remarkable potential. Organizational leaders believe that the Iranian people are the true proprietors of the revolution, and that their religious convictions can strengthen Iran’s cultural and diplomatic standing.

Currently, dozens of artistic and media entities, several publishing houses, hundreds of mosques and heyʾāt, and thousands of grassroots groups nationwide operate with support from the Islamic Development Organization.

Key affiliated bodies include: