talking to a friend who is a shia muslim recently, studying philosophy and theology at gtu, and we got around to talking about astrology. i mentioned that i was curious about muslim attitudes, because though my family is very hostile to the practice i got the sense that it was part of the “contrast effect” with hinduism (as hindus are very pro-astrology). he told me that views vary, but astrological inclinations exist at least in the highest levels of iranian shiism as evidenced by articles and advertisements he’s seen in religious periodicals.