The Opportunities and Challenges of Iranian Official Education Textbooks on Mahdaviat: The analysis of the representation of Mahdaviat in the official education textbooks in Iran based on the Islamic Revolution’s benchmark approach

The article intends to explain the status of the representation of Mahdaviat as one of the most important part of religious faith of Iranians with a maximum Shia population in the official education textbooks across the country. By using the method of thematic analysis, firstly, we reached the indicators of ‘awaiting society’ and thought of Mahdaviat from the perspectives of the Imams of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (as) and the current Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as two official benchmark approaches on the case. Then, we used the content analysis method to evaluate the textbooks’ contents based on the indicators afforded from the statements and thoughts of these two Imams. The basic question of the research: Is the representation of Mahdaviat in the formal education contents of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in accordance with the viewpoints of the Imams of the Islamic Revolution and thereupon of the official outlook of the Islamic Republic of Iran? The results show that there are some basic drawbacks during the content of these official education contents, both in terms of quantity (given the importance and necessity of the matter) and the approach (due to the benchmark and alignments).