The Ulema and the Nationalization of Religious Morality in Iran, 1925–63

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Notes

¹ Three marja' ye taqlid (sources of emulation) died naturally in the early 1920s; three others—Shaykh Muhammed Husayn Naieni (d. 1936), Haj Sayyid Abul-Hasan Mussavi Isfahani (d. 1945), and Sayyid Ali Shahrestani (d. ?)—were among the group exiled to Iran in August 1923. They were permitted to return to the Atabat in 1924. The other most important marja, Abdol-Karim Haeri Yazdi, had been living and teaching in Iran since 1914, and moved from Arak to Qom in 1922. Haeri never expressed public political positions. He is usually referred to as the founder (moasses) of the Qom religious establishment. Among the 83 ulema who were exiled to Iran, there were also mujtahids such as Sayyid Abolghassem Kashani (d. 1962) who would play an important role in the political struggles of 1941–53.

² Husayn Makki, Tarikh-e Bist Saleh-e Iran [Twenty-year history of Iran], 5th ed., 8 vols., vol. 1 (Tehran: Elmi, [1944] 1985), p. 146.

³ Ahmad Feroz, The Making of Modern Turkey (London and New York: Routledge, 1993), p. 52.

⁴ See further Hamid Enayat, Modern Islamic Political Thought (Austin: University of Texas Press).

⁵ Mehdi Yahya Dowlatabadi, Tarikh-e Mu'asir Hayat-e Yahya [Contemporary history of the life of Yahya], 4 vols., vol. 4 (Tehran: Attar, [1964] 1982), p. 345; and Abdollah Mustawfi, Sharh-e Zendegi Man ya Tarikh-e Ejtema'e va Edari-e Doreh-ye Qajar [Story of my life or the social and administrative history of the Qajar period), 3 vols., vol. 3 (Tehran: Zavar, [1943, 1945] 1992), p. 584.

⁶ Stephanie Cronin, The Army and the Creation of the Pahlavi State in Iran, 1910–1926 (London: I. B. Tauris, 1997), pp. 157–167; the opposition to Reza Shah in the army continued well after the change of dynasty (see ibid., pp. 167–181).

⁷ There are contradictory reports about the exact role and perception of republicanism among some of the most prominent diwanis. In his memoir, Farrukh Mu'tassam al-Saltaneh published an undated letter in support of republicanism signed by several diwanis and some constitutionalists on 8 February 1921. See, Mu'tassam al-Saltaneh Farrukh, Khaterat-e Siyasi-ye Farrukh [Political memoirs of Farrukh] (Tehran: Elmi, 1968), p. 188. The best-known participant in this group was Mukhber al-Saltaneh Hedayat, who later served Reza Shah as prime minister for six consecutive years. In his own memoir, Hedayat admits that a meeting with the same group occurred at the height of the crisis (no date is given), although he registers his own dismay at republicanism. The meeting took place, he claims, to convince the crown prince to abandon the Qajar court—that is to say, some time around the end of March. See Haj Mehdi Gholi (Mukhber al-Saltaneh) Hedayat, Khaterat va Khatarat [Memoirs and dangerous times] (Tehran: Zavar, [1944] 1996), pp. 364–366.

⁸ Soleiman Behbodi, Reza Khan's intimate personal servant and secretary, wrote a regular diary from 18 June 1923 up to Reza Shah's coronation on 21 April 1926. According to his entry on 6 April 1924, Reza Khan, facing anti-republican ‘agitation’ supported by the court was ‘forced’ to resign and Ahmad Shah, via telegram from Europe, appointed Mustawfi al-Mamlik as the prime minister. See Gholam Hossein Mirza Saleh (Ed.), Reza Shah: Khaterat-e Soleiman Behbodi, Shams Pahlavi, Ali Eyzadi [Reza Shah: memoirs of Soleiman Behbodi, Shams Pahlavi, and Ali Eyzadi] (Tehran: Tarheh-no Press, 1993), p. 131. Behbodi continues: ‘The commanders of the army threatened a coup and disobedience of the center and the country's situation became so chaotic. His Excellency [Reza Khan] decided to leave the country for good, first, to go to Atabat, and later to choose a permanent place for residency. It was the intervention of people like Mushir al-Dawla, and Mustawfi al-Mamalik among others, who convinced him not to leave the country, but to go outside of Tehran and let the Majlis decide about his resignation (ibid., p. 132). It is important to note that Reza Khan resigned from his post as the prime minister on 1 April 1924, six days after he had visited the leading ulema in Qom. He issued a statement after the visit, declaring ‘his sole program and personal ideology from the first day had been the glory of Islam and independence of Iran.’ The complete text of this statement is reprinted in Makki, Tarikh-e Bist Saleh-e Iran, vol. 2, pp. 546–547. Reza Khan's position as premier was finally reaffirmed on 9 April, after the situation had calmed and some of the army commanders had sent a threatening telegram to the Majlis. He was brought back to the capital, victoriously, by a group of political personalities including Muhammad Musaddegh. In short, as this chronology of the event documents, he negotiated his return to power first and foremost through the ulema.

⁹ Abdul-hadi Hairi, Shi'ism and Constitutionalism in Iran: A Study of the Role Played by the Persian Residents of Iraq in Iranian Politics (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1977), p. 142.

¹⁰ Mirza Saleh, Reza Shah, pp. 112–122.

¹¹ Cyrus Ghani, Iran and the Rise of Reza Shah: From Qajar's Collapse to Pahlavi Rule (London: I. B. Tauris, 1998).

¹² Historically the diwanis were not on good terms with the ulema. Most were the same diwanis who had drafted the electoral laws for the election of the Second Majlis in 1909, modifying the previous law that had recognized the ulema as a class.

¹³ Naieni thanked Reza Khan for the hospitality that had been offered to him and the other ulema in Iran by sending a rare portrait of Imam Ali, the most revered Shi'i Imam, to Reza Khan in 1924. The letter accompanying the gift had a strong message of support for Reza Khan: ‘one of the most important prayers that can be offered in the holy shrine [Najaf] is to wish the continuation of Your Highness's strength for the exaltation of Religion and State’ (Makki, Tarikh-e Bist Saleh-e Iran, vol. 3, p. 46). The portrait was carried to Iran in a ceremonial manner, giving Reza Khan ample opportunity to show his faith in Islam (Mustawfi, Sharh-e Zendegi Man ya Tarikh-e Ejtema'e va Edari-e Doreh-ye Qajar, vol. 3, pp. 613–616). The ulema's support for Reza Khan continued without interruption until he became king. For the text of letters exchanged between the leading marjas, then residing in Qom, and Reza Khan, see Makki, Tarikh-e Bist Saleh-e Iran, vol. 4, pp. 37–38. For a report on this relationship, with particular emphasis on Naieni's role, see Hairi, Shi'ism and Constitutionalism in Iran, pp. 131–149.

¹⁴ Makki, Tarikh-e Bist Saleh-e Iran, vol. 3, p. 540.

¹⁵ The proceedings of the Constitutional Assembly are reproduced in Makki, Tarikh-e Bist Saleh-e Iran, vol. 3, pp. 551–655. It is important to note that even though Mudarris worked closely with Reza Khan after the collapse of republicanism, he did not participate in the Constitutional Assembly. After Reza Shah's coronation several of the most important marjas in Najaf, including Isfahani, sent him congratulatory telegrams (see Ibid., vol. 4, pp. 20–21).

¹⁶ Makki, Tarikh-e Bist Saleh-e Iran., vol. 2, p. 501.

¹⁸ Hedayat, Khaterat va Khatarat, pp. 378–380.

¹⁷ Not all of Reza Shah's top bureaucrats held similar views. The ministers of justice, finance, and the court supported a modernization project with Western connotations and secular, anti-ulema rhetoric.

¹⁹ We do not know exactly how and when these new demands were formulated. Two versions of this platform are available: Makki, Tarikh-e Bist Saleh-e Iran, vol. 4, p. 399; and Moussa Najafi, Andisheh-e Siyasi va Tarikh-e Nehzat-e Hadj Agha Nourallah Isfahani [Political thought and history of Haj Agha Nourallah Isfahani's movement] (Tehran: Mo'asseseh-ye Motale'at-e Tarikh-e Modern-e Iran, 1999), pp. 242–243; however, neither of them is dated, and they differ in wording and in the number of demands. I extrapolated the ulema's main demands and the approximate date of its formulation by comparing and contrasting the contents and the dates of other correspondence on the subject, such as letters of Reza Shah, Hedayat-Timortaush, and Isfahani (see further Hedayat, Khaterat va Khatarat; Makki, Tarikh-e Bist Saleh-e Iran, vol. 4; and Najafi, Andisheh-e Siyasi va Tarikh-e Nehzat-e Haj Agha Nourallah Isfahani).

²⁰ Najafi, Andisheh-e Siyasi va Tarikh-e Nehzat-e Haj Agha Nourallah Isfahani, p. 285.

²¹ Najafi, Andisheh-e Siyassi va Tarikh-e Nehzat-e Haj Agha Nurallah Isfahani, p. 285.; Hedayat, Khaterat va Khatarat; and Makki, Tarikh-e Bist Saleh-e Iran, vol. 4.

²² Sheikh Agha Bozorg Muhammad Mohsen Tehrani, Tabaghat-e A'lam al Shi'i [Classification of outstanding men among the Shi'i], 4 vols., vol. 3 (Najaf: Matbae al-Adab, 1954–1962), p. 159.

²³ Issa Khan Sadig, Modern Persia and her Educational System. Studies of the International Institute of Teachers College, Columbia University, no. 14 (New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1931), p. 79.

²⁴ Farrukh, Khaterat-e Siyasi-ye Farrukh, pp. 222–225.

²⁵ Ruhani (plural ruhanion, collective noun ruhaniat), literally means the spiritual; however, it is being used here as a substitute for the ulema and their students. The ulema use the term to identify themselves too. Many translated it as clergy despite the lack of such an establishment in Islam. Even the Shi'i ulema, the most advanced institutional entity of the Islamic hierarchy, can hardly be referred to as a clerical order. Thus, for the sake of clarity I use the term in its different configurations (ruhani, ruhanion, and ruhaniat) in the original Persian.

²⁶ Najafi, Andisheh-ee Siyasi va Tarikh-e Nehzat-e Haj Agha Nourallah Isfahani, pp. 261–262.

²⁷ Najafi, Andisheh-ee Siyassi va Tarikh-e Nehzat-e Haj Agha Nurallah Isfahani. p. 262. From the rest of his letter, it is clear that his personal emissary to Reza Shah was Haj Mirza Abulhasan Burujirdi, who after Isfahani's death in 1945 became the most eminent and most powerful religious personality in Iran until his death in 1961.

²⁸ Amin Banani, The Modernization of Iran, 1921–1941 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1961), p. 97.

²⁹ Sadig, Modern Persia and her Educational System, p. 54.

³⁰ Reza Arasteh, Education and Social Awakening in Iran (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1962). See appendices.

³¹ Banani, The Modernization of Iran, 1921–1941, p. 80.

³² Ali Davani, Nehzat-e Ruhaniun Iran [The movement of the Iranian ruhaniun], 10 vols., vol. 2 (Mahshad: Bonyad Farhangi Imam Reza, 1981), p. 162.

³³ Naser Pakdaman, Qatl-e Kasravi [Murder of Kasravi] (Uppsala: Afsaneh, 1999), pp. 90–100.

³⁴ Arasteh, Education and Social Awakening in Iran. See Appendices.

³⁵ Sadig, Modern Persia and her Educational System, pp. 34, 50.

³⁶ Sadig, Modern Persia and her Educational System. p. 34; and Arasteh. Education and Social Awakening in Iran, p. 56.

³⁷ Sadig, Modern Persia and her Educational System, p. 57. Issa Khan Sadig was born into a religious family but was educated in Iran, France, England, and the United States. He served six times as minister of education between 1941 and 1960, and also served as the dean of Teachers College and the president of the University of Tehran in the 1940s. He was responsible more than anybody else for incorporating religion into the national educational program during the Pahlavi era. Sadig ended his Columbia University Teachers College dissertation (1931) suggesting that the future educational program of Iran should strive ‘to teach by percept and by example that God extends his blessing to those who have good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, which are the bases of righteousness and tolerance’ (Sadig, Modern Persia and her Educational System., p. 85). He pursued this goal when he later took charge of the Iranian educational system.

³⁸ Sadig, Modern Persia and her Educational System., pp. 58, 64–65.

³⁹ David Menashri, Education and the Making of Modern Iran (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992), p. 151.

⁴⁰ Banani, The Modernization of Iran, 1921–1941, p. 104.

⁴¹ Menashri, Education and the Making of Modern Iran, p. 97.

⁴² Hossein Shahidi, ‘The BBC Persian service, 1940–1953, and the nationalization of Iranian oil,’ Journal of Iranian Research and Analysis, 17(1) (2001), pp. 31–55.

⁴³ Issa Sadig, Yadegar-e Omr—Khaterati az Sargozasht-e Doctor Issa Sadig [Souvenir of life—memoirs from the life of Doctor Issa Sadig], 3 vols., vol. 3 (Tehran: Amir Kabir Press, 1966, 1974), p. 7.

⁴⁴ Issa Sadig, Yadegar-e Omr—Khaterati az Sargozasht-e Doctor Issa Sadig [Souvenir of life—memoirs from the life of Doctor Isa Sadig], 3 vols., vol. 3 (Tehran: Amir Kabir Press, 1966, 1974)., p. 5.

⁴⁵ The ‘Council of Religious Science’ also was formed (November 1943) during his tenure. ‘The most important tasks of this Council,’ according to Sadig, were ‘to organize the affairs of the country's schools of religious sciences,’ and to determine their educational program by paying attention to subjects and courses that are appropriate to [our] age, the conditions of choosing the instructors, the school's examinations and deliverance of the [graduate]'s diplomas and certificates' (Issa Sadig, Yadegar-e Omr—Khaterati az Sargozasht-e Doctor Issa Sadig [Souvenir of life—memoirs from the life of Doctor Isa Sadig], 3 vols., vol. 3 (Tehran: Amir Kabir Press, 1966, 1974), vol. 3, p. 94).

⁴⁸ Issa Sadig, Yadegar-e Omr—Khaterati az Sargozasht-e Doctor Issa Sadig [Souvenir of life—memoirs from the life of Doctor Isa Sadig], 3 vols., vol. 3 (Tehran: Amir Kabir Press, 1966, 1974)., pp. 92–93.

⁴⁹ Issa Sadig, Yadegar-e Omr—Khaterati az Sargozasht-e Doctor Issa Sadig [Souvenir of life—memoirs from the life of Doctor Isa Sadig], 3 vols., vol. 3 (Tehran: Amir Kabir Press, 1966, 1974)., pp. 232–234.

⁴⁶ Issa Sadig, Yadegar-e Omr—Khaterati az Sargozasht-e Doctor Issa Sadig [Souvenir of life—memoirs from the life of Doctor Isa Sadig], 3 vols., vol. 3 (Tehran: Amir Kabir Press, 1966, 1974)., p. 49.

⁴⁷ Issa Sadig, Yadegar-e Omr—Khaterati az Sargozasht-e Doctor Issa Sadig [Souvenir of life—memoirs from the life of Doctor Isa Sadig], 3 vols., vol. 3 (Tehran: Amir Kabir Press, 1966, 1974)., pp. 49–53.

⁵⁰ See further Ronald Aminzade, ‘Historical sociology and time,’ Sociological Method and Research, 20 (1992), pp. 462–467; and Charles Tilly, ‘The time of states,’ Social Research, 61 (1994), pp. 270–282.