شاه اسماعیل با اينكه مروّج مذهب شيعه اماميه بود، در جاى آب شراب می آشاميد و هميشه ندماء مجلس او زنان و پسران خوش منظر بودند. در محرّم فقط در روز عاشورا مجلس عزايى منعقد كرده، يكى از وعاظ كتاب روضة الشهداء حسين واعظ كاشفى را بر منبر مى خواند. سامعين ندبه و گريه مى كردند. چون اين كتاب فارسى بود، غالب امرا، حتى لشكر كه ترك بودند، نمى فهميدند. جلال الدين ميرزاى مرحوم در جلد ثالث نامه خسروان مى نگارد: كه در مجلس عزايى كه شاه اسماعيل حضور داشت، يكى از امراى بزرگ شاملو در آن مجلس بود و گريه مى كرد، شاه از او پرسيد كه تو چرا گريه مى كنى؟ در جواب عرض كرد كه “من از براى حسين شما گريه نمى كنم؛ از براى آن دليران شام ما گريه مى كنم كه حسين شما و اصحابش آنها را كشته اند. شاه كه اين جواب را شنيد، خنديد”
محمد عارف اسپناقچى پاشازاده، انقلاب الاسلام بين الخواص و العوام، به کوشش رسول جعفریان، قم، انتشارات دلیل ماه، چاپ نخست 1379، ص 271.

“[…] although Shah Isma’il adherent of the Shi’a Imamiyyah sect, yet he used to drink wine instead of water, and every time his gathering would consist of good looking woumen and young boys. During Muharram, only on the day of Ashura there would be mourning ritual. One would recite from the book “Raudhah al-Shuhada” by Hussein Wa’idh Kashifi on the pulpit (minbar). Listeners would wail and cry. Since this book was in Farsi, most of the generals and even the army who were Turks, couldn’t understand it. The Late Jalal al-Din Mirzai writes in the third volume of the letter of Khosrawan that in the mourning gathering (majlis) where Shah Ismail was present, one of the chief generals of Shamlou was also present and he would cry. Shah Ismail asked him why he was crying? He said in reply: “I am not crying for your Hussein, I am crying for the brave Shamis (Syrians) who were killed by your Hussein and his companions. When Shah Ismail heard this, he laughed.

Source: Mohammad Aref Epenaqchi Pashazadeh in his “Enqelab Islam bayn al-Khawas wa al-‘Awam”, with the effort of Rasoul Jafarian, Qom, Dalil Mah Publications, First Print 1379, Page 271″

Note: Historical chronicles about the Safavids also reveal that the Safavid rulers were very fond of young boys. Ironically, the Shi’a Mullahs of Iran to this very day have a reputation of being closet sodomites. The Feyziyyeh School of Qom (founded by the Safavids) is infamous for being cesspool of sodomy.