Unlike much instant analysis that appeared at the time of the Iranian revolution, this volume is based on extensive fieldwork carried out in Iran. Michael M.J. Fischer draws upon his rich experience with the mullahs and their students in the holy city of Qum, composing a picture of Iranian society from the inside - the lives of ordinary people, the way that each class interprets Islam, and the role of religion and religious education in the culture. Fischer's book, with its new introduction updating arguments for the post-Revolutionary period, brings a view of a society undergoing metamorphosis, which remains fundamental to understanding Iranian society in the early 21st century.