Abstract:
After the victory of the Islamic revolution, the Qom seminary, with a religious-social identity based on international and local goals and programs, considered the spread of authentic Islamic thoughts from the very beginning. As the great leader of the revolution and the seminary’s religious institution, Imam Khomeini raised the religious-social function of seminary school from national to international level. The transfer of ideas and the spread of religious teachings to Brazil is an instance in this regard. Brazil is the largest country in Latin America with the largest number of Shiites. Despite the distance, seminary services are outstanding in this country. The hypothesis of this research is that the Qom seminary has directly and indirectly provided numerous socio-cultural services (such as sending missionaries, translating religious texts into Portuguese, supporting and offering consulting services for the establishment of mosques and cultural centers) to the Shiites of Brazil. Using library sources, historical research and descriptive-analytical method, this article aims to address the social-cultural services of the Qom seminary in the formation and expansion of Shiism in Brazil and the steps it has taken in this direction. The findings of the research were organized based on the components of the "cultivation theory" with regard to the promotion of the religious-social status of the Shiite and the propagation of Islam among Christians by the seminary of Qom in Brazil. In conclusion, socio-cultural strategies for the improvement of the status of Shiites have been presented.