Although it originated outside of Islam, Nowruz is widely accepted and integrated within multiple Islamic communities. When Islam spread into Persia in the 7th century, and Muslim rulers replaced Zoroastrian ones, Nowruz festivities persisted. Although some Muslim clerics and caliphs dismissed or forbade the holiday as non-Islamic, it was gradually accepted within Islamic culture, and it was even given meanings related to the Prophet Muhammad and Muslim religious history. Nowruz is particularly popular among Shiʿi Muslims. After the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Iran’s supreme leaders and clerics sought to discourage Nowruz due to its non-Islamic roots, but it remains widely celebrated. In Afghanistan the Taliban have attempted to ban it, though it continues each year in secret.
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