Azerbaijani and other Turkic languages are also commonly spoken among minority groups in Iran. Azerbaijani is one of the most widely spoken languages in the country next to Persian, but there are also significant numbers of native Kurdish, Balochi, and Arabic speakers. English is a widely taught second language in Iran and many people, especially young people, speak at least a minimal amount of English.
Religion
Muslim is the official religion of Iran and nearly 90% of the people are Shia Muslim. Another 9% of the people are Sunnis. The final percent or two consists of various groups, including Christians, Zoroastrians, and Baha'is.
Islam (the name of the religion, whose followers are called Muslims) is a monotheistic religion, whose holy book is called the Qur'an. The Qur'an is believed to be the word of God spoken through the prophet Muhammad from 609-632 CE (Common Era is preferred over AD (Anno Domini or "year of the Lord") since the Islamic world doesn't believe 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").