The Forgotten Schools: The Baha'is And Modern Education In Iran, 1899-1934 (international Library Of Iranian Studies)
by Soli Shahvar /
2009 / English / PDF
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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.
Muzaffar al-Din Shah sought to remedy this situation by
permitting the entry of the private sector into the field of
modern education and in 1899 the first Baha’i school was
established in Tehran. By the 1930s there were dozens of
Baha’i schools. Their high standards of education drew many
non-Baha’i students, from all sections of society. Here 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 Reza Shah in the late
1930s and the subsequent fragility of the Baha’is position in
Iran.
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.
Muzaffar al-Din Shah sought to remedy this situation by
permitting the entry of the private sector into the field of
modern education and in 1899 the first Baha’i school was
established in Tehran. By the 1930s there were dozens of
Baha’i schools. Their high standards of education drew many
non-Baha’i students, from all sections of society. Here 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 Reza Shah in the late
1930s and the subsequent fragility of the Baha’is position in
Iran.