The Forgotten Schools
1
The Forgotten Schools The Baha’is and Modern Education in Iran, 1899–1934 Soli Shahvar TAURIS ACADEMIC STUDIES By the end of the nineteenth century it became evident to Iran’s ruling Qajar elite that the state’s contribution to the promotion of modern education in the country was unable to meet the growing expectations set by Iranian society. Although modern schools were established by foreign religious missions in Iran as early as the 1830s, these were limited mainly to Christian areas and communities and were far from meeting the growing demands of the majority Shi’i population for modern education. Muzaffar al-Din Shah sought to remedy this situation by permitting the entry of the private sector into the field of modern education. In 1899, the Madreseh-ye Tarbiyat, the first Baha’i school, was established in Tehran. The Baha’is were a significant religious minority in twentieth-century Iran, but traditionally under-represented and often persecuted. By the 1930s there were dozens of Baha’i schools, single-sex primary, secondary and pre-schools. Their high standards of education drew many non-Baha’i students from all sections of society. The Baha’is saw this as an opportunity to bring recognition to and expansion for their community, and a means to establish themselves in the open as a minority while fulfilling their religious duty of educating their children. Here for the first time, Soli Shahvar assesses these ‘forgotten schools’ and investigates why they proved so popular not only with Baha’is, but Zoroastrians, Jews and especially Muslims. Shahvar explains why they were closed by the reformist Riza Shah in the late 1930s and the subsequent fragility of the Baha’is position in Iran. Soli Shahvar is Senior Lecturer in the Department of History of the Middle East and Director of the Ezri Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies at the University of Haifa, and research fellow at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He completed his PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London. Front image The Tavvakkul Girls’ School in Qazvin, 1928. The sign on the wall reads “Ya Baha’ al-Abha” (O Thou the Glory of Glories), which is another form of the Greatest Name, “Allah-u-Abha”. Source: BWCA; Samandari, Taraz-i Ilahi, 1: opposite p. 392. © Baha’i World Centre Back image Ta’yid Boys School, Hamadan, n.d. [probably between 1917/18 and 1920/21, when ‘Abdullah Ittihadiyyih, known as Monsieur André Sulayman, (seated in the middle) was the school’s principal] © Baha’i World Centre Jacket design www.theoldchapelivinghoe.com ‘This fine scholarly book on the development of modern primary and secondary education in Iran through the efforts of the Baha’is fills an important gap in scholarly literature of the Islamic world. Shahvar discusses these important developments by examining thoroughly the introduction and expansion of modern education in Iranian society as part of the general reform and Westernization efforts in late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Shahvar’s in- depth knowledge of Iran, full knowledge of several languages, detailed research in various archives and careful attention to nuances of culture and religious traditions in Iran make this book a substantial addition to our knowledge of reform movements in Iran and the larger Middle East region. The Forgotten Schools fills an important lacuna in literature on modern education and reform in Iran, dealing specifically with the Baha’i schools and their impact as a vehicle for modernization.’ Farhad Kazemi, Professor of Politics, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, New York University ‘Shahvar’s study fills a major gap in studies of modern education in Iran. It also sheds light on the power struggle between the anti-clerical Reza Shah Pahlavi and the Baha’i leadership in the 1930s and on why the shah ultimately closed down non-Muslim and foreign schools.’ Janet Afary, Professor of History, Purdue University ‘Shahvar’s study is a significant contribution to the fields of contemporary Iranian history, the history of modern education in the Middle East, and Baha’i Studies. The contribution of the Baha’is to the introduction and fostering of modern education methods and techniques in Iran has yet to be fully recognised, and the present monograph by Shahvar goes a long way to redressing the balance in this regard. Shahvar presents a complex and nuanced picture of the motivation behind the establishment of these Baha’i-run schools and how their curricula were inspired by the teachings of Baha’ullah, and ‘Abdu’l-Baha. Shahvar explores possible reasons behind their closure during the reign of Reza Shah, whilst noting that many prominent, non-Baha’i families during the Constitutional and early Pahlavi periods considered these schools the most desirable for the education of their children. The two most fascinating aspects of this study, however, concern the contribution of the Baha’is to the public education of girls in Iran, and the inter-communal nature of these schools’ student body.’ Dominic Parviz Brookshaw, Lecturer in Persian Studies and Iranian Literature, University of Manchester The Forgotten Schools The Baha’is and Modern Education in Iran, 1899–1934 Soli Shahvar TAURIS ACADEMIC STUDIES an imprint of I.B.Tauris Publishers London • New York www.ibtauris.com 116835 781845 9 ISBN 978-1-84511-683-5
Transcript of The Forgotten Schools
The Forgotten Schools
The Baha’is and Modern Education in Iran, 1899–1934
Soli ShahvarTAURIS ACADEMIC
STUDIES
By the end of the nineteenth century it became evident to Iran’s ruling Qajar elite that the state’s contribution to the promotion of modern education in the country was unable to meet the growing expectations set by Iranian society. Although modern schools were established by foreign religious missions in Iran as early as the 1830s, these were limited mainly to Christian areas and communities and were far from meeting the growing demands of the majority Shi’i population for modern education. Muzaffar al-Din Shah sought to remedy this situation by permitting the entry of the private sector into the field of modern education.
In 1899, the Madreseh-ye Tarbiyat, the first Baha’i school, was established in Tehran. The Baha’is were a significant religious minority in twentieth-century Iran, but traditionally under-represented and often persecuted. By the 1930s there were dozens of Baha’i schools, single-sex primary, secondary and pre-schools. Their high standards of education drew many non-Baha’i students from all sections of society. The Baha’is saw this as an opportunity to bring recognition to and expansion for their community, and a means to establish themselves in the open as a minority while fulfilling their religious duty of educating their children.
Here for the first time, Soli Shahvar assesses these ‘forgotten schools’ and investigates why they proved so popular not only with Baha’is, but Zoroastrians, Jews and especially Muslims. Shahvar explains why they were closed by the reformist Riza Shah in the late 1930s and the subsequent fragility of the Baha’is position in Iran.
Soli Shahvar is Senior Lecturer in the Department of History of the Middle East and Director of the Ezri Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies at the University of Haifa, and research fellow at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He completed his PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London.
Front image The Tavvakkul Girls’ School in Qazvin, 1928. The sign on the wall reads “Ya Baha’ al-Abha” (O Thou the Glory of Glories), which is another form of the Greatest Name, “Allah-u-Abha”. Source: BWCA; Samandari, Taraz-i Ilahi, 1: opposite p. 392. © Baha’i World Centre
Back image Ta’yid Boys School, Hamadan, n.d. [probably between 1917/18 and 1920/21, when ‘Abdullah Ittihadiyyih, known as Monsieur André Sulayman, (seated in the middle) was the school’s principal] © Baha’i World Centre
Jacket designwww.theoldchapelivinghoe.com
‘This fine scholarly book on the development of modern primary and secondary education in Iran through the efforts of the Baha’is fills an important gap in scholarly literature of the Islamic world. Shahvar discusses these important developments by examining thoroughly the introduction and expansion of modern education in Iranian society as part of the general reform and Westernization efforts in late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Shahvar’s in-depth knowledge of Iran, full knowledge of several languages, detailed research in various archives and careful attention to nuances of culture and religious traditions in Iran make this book a substantial addition to our knowledge of reform movements in Iran and the larger Middle East region. The Forgotten Schools fills an important lacuna in literature on modern education and reform in Iran, dealing specifically with the Baha’i schools and their impact as a vehicle for modernization.’ Farhad Kazemi, Professor of Politics, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, New York University
‘Shahvar’s study fills a major gap in studies of modern education in Iran. It also sheds light on the power struggle between the anti-clerical Reza Shah Pahlavi and the Baha’i leadership in the 1930s and on why the shah ultimately closed down non-Muslim and foreign schools.’Janet Afary, Professor of History, Purdue University
‘Shahvar’s study is a significant contribution to the fields of contemporary Iranian history, the history of modern education in the Middle East, and Baha’i Studies. The contribution of the Baha’is to the introduction and fostering of modern education methods and techniques in Iran has yet to be fully recognised, and the present monograph by Shahvar goes a long way to redressing the balance in this regard. Shahvar presents a complex and nuanced picture of the motivation behind the establishment of these Baha’i-run schools and how their curricula were inspired by the teachings of Baha’ullah, and ‘Abdu’l-Baha. Shahvar explores possible reasons behind their closure during the reign of Reza Shah, whilst noting that many prominent, non-Baha’i families during the Constitutional and early Pahlavi periods considered these schools the most desirable for the education of their children. The two most fascinating aspects of this study, however, concern the contribution of the Baha’is to the public education of girls in Iran, and the inter-communal nature of these schools’ student body.’Dominic Parviz Brookshaw, Lecturer in Persian Studies and Iranian Literature, University of Manchester
The Forgotten SchoolsThe Baha’is and M
odern Education in Iran, 1899–1934Soli Shahvar
TAURIS ACADEMIC STUDIESan imprint of I.B.Tauris Publishers
London • New York
www.ibtauris.com 1168357818459
ISBN 978-1-84511-683-5
