Discourse of Charity Affairs in Isfahan (1906-1908): Church Missionary Society (CMS) and the Reaction of Social Activists

IntroductionIn 1812, “Church Missionary Society” (CMS) was established in London (Ward, 2000: 1-3) under the influence of the Evangelical Revival movement which promoted that a “real” Christian participates in “charitable activities” (Lansley, 2010: 81), such as establishing orphanages, shelters, penitentiaries, schools, and hospitals. (Luddy, 1996: 353). Focusing on the establishment of modern educational and medical centers, the activity of “Church Missionary Society” in Iran, first started in the Armenian quarter of Julfa (1869), (Arnold, 1877, 1: 317-319) and then in Isfahan (1904) (Linton, 1923: 80). This led to the formation of a social action by a group of clerics and activists of Isfahan in the era of constitutionalism to organize charity affairs and establish related institutions. Therefore, investigating the nature and manner of CMS’ charity discourse in Isfahan and the result of the activists’ discourse to confront CMS activity, is the main issue of this article. To answer these questions, a series of sources have been reviewed, such as Eugene Stock’s books on CMS history (1899, 1902), Gordon Hewitt’s two-volume collection (1971, 1977), essays on the bicentenary of CMS (2000), the website of the CMS, and the digital archive of Adam Matthew. Robin Waterfield (1973) and Gulnar Eleanor Francis-Dehqani (2000) have discussed parts of the CMS activity in Iran (2000). Safura Borumand also described CMS activities during the Qajar era in her Master’s thesis (1996), book and articles (2002, 2022). Musa Najafi’s researches explain social reaction towards CMS in Isfahan (1999-2011).Research MethodologyIn this research, “charity discourse” refers to CMS activity and also to the reaction of Isfahan social activists. The components of this discourse have been categorized and analyzed based on Norman Fairclough’s framework of “Orders of Discourse”. Fairclough describes “discourse” as part of social action (practice) which consists of three semiotic components including “discourse, genres, and styles” (Fairclough, 2006: 26). In this research, based on this theory, examples of the CMS’ social action in Isfahan during the1900s have been identified in accordance with the definition of charity discourse in the conceptual sphere of evangelical ideology (Lansley, 2010: 69, 81, 87; Luddy, 1996: 353) in the form of educational, medical and religious fields. The process of social activists’ reaction towards the activity of CMS is also analyzed based on the psychological approach of Hans Herbert Toch. From Toch’s point of view, the emergence of a “problem” in society provides the context of the “susceptibility” of some people. If agents or social institutions do nothing to solve this problem, the motivated group will raise an “appeal”. If this appeal is not addressed, the motivated group will try to solve the problem through an ideology. In Toch’s definition, this process leads to the formation of a “social movement” (Toch, 1966: 26-27).Research FindingsThe conformity of historical documents with Fairclough’s three components of “Orders of Discourse” shows the formation of a two-way discourse around the axis of “charity”. What CMS offered was rooted in the ideology of the evangelical approach of its missionaries. However, the activity of Isfahan social activists in the social sphere of the constitutional era was influenced by the approach of personalities such as Nūrallah Najafi to implement socio-cultural reforms, who also used the same components of the charity discourse in relation to the activities of CMS. In the adaptation of the activities of both CMS and social activists of Isfahan with the trinal categories of “Orders of Discourse”, the multiplicity of activities in the category of “genres” is remarkable, which Fairclough defines as a special way of interacting communicatively. In analyzing the formation process of social activists’ opposition to the activity of CMS and examining the possibility of adapting its historical documents to the “social movement” theory of Hans Herbert Toch, the chart of this process is presented as follows: Research ResultsIn the early 1900s, influenced by the Evangelical Revival movement and for the purpose of “salvation of themselves and non-Christians”, CMS missionaries, as activists, focused on charity affairs in Isfahan. Therefore, their educational and medical activities were in an aura of direct and indirect religious propaganda. Rereading signs of historical documents and their adaptation to the trinal components of Norman Fairclough’s “Orders of Discourse”, indicates the formation of CMS charity discourse in Isfahan. The foundation of girls' and boys’ schools, conservatories, orphanages, hospitals, pharmacies, entrepreneurship, advanced teaching methods, and medical services were all the themes of this discourse. Although such charity services responded to the educational and medical needs of the Qajar society, the Evangelical approach governing these activities became the “problem” of social activists in Isfahan. The fear of CMS activity’s influence on various social groups that were in some way connected with missionaries increased the “susceptibility” of the social leaders. Due to the lack of a specific and continuous governmental solution for restriction or prohibition of the CMS’ Evangelical activities, social activists such as Nūrallāh Najafi presented solutions similar to what was done in CMS’ charity discourse which resulted in organizing groups, social actions, and charity “Orders of Discourse” in the field of educational, medical and religious activities. The formation of Isfahan activists’ charity discourse in the social sphere influenced by the constitutional movement turned into a systematic act, which according to the theory of Hans Herbert Toch, can be referred to as a “social movement”. BibliographyArnold, A. (1877). Through Persia by Caravan, Vol. 1, London: Harper & Brothers.Borumand, S. (2022). The Issue of Self and Other: The Identity Challenge of Victorian Women (Case Study: CMS Women's Interaction with Women of Qajar Era), International Journal of Humanities (EIJH), 29 (3), 25-41.Borūmand, Ṣ. (1381 Š.), Peĵūhešī bar Anjoman-e Tablīḡī-ye Kelīsā dar Dawre-ye Qājarī-ye, Tehrān: Moasese-ye Moṭāle'at-e Tārīḵ-e Mo'aṣer-e Īrā [In Persian]Borūmand, Ṣ. (1383 Š.). "Mo'arefī-e Ketāb-e Yanābi' al-Eslām Aṯar-e Sant Kler Tisdāl", Našrīyeh Eṭelā'a Resānī-ye Ketābḵāneh-ye Taḵṣoṣī-e Vezarat-e Omūr-e Ḵārejeh, 3 (3): 44-49. [In Persian]Fairclough, N. (2006). Language and Globalization, London & New York: Routledge.Francis-Dehqani, G. E. (2000). Religious Feminism in an Age of Empire: CMS Women Missionaries in Iran, 1869-1934, Bristol: University of Bristol.Hewitt, G. (1971-1977). The Problems of Success: A History of the Church Missionary Society, 1910-1942, 2 vols. London: SCM Press. Lansley, J. W. (2010). The Interplay of Charity and Theology, c. 1700-1900, University of Manchester for the Degree of Ph.D., in Faculty of Humanities, Schools of Arts, History and Cultures.Linton, J. H. (1923), Persian Sketches, London: Church Missionary Society.Luddy, M. (December 1996). “Women and Philanthropy in Nineteenth-Century Ireland”, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 7, No. 4, WOMEN AND PHIALTROPY, 350-364.Najafī, M. (1378 Š.). Andīše-ye Sīāsī va Tārīḵ-e Nehżat-e Ḥāj Āqā Nūrallāh Eṣfahānī, Tehrān: Moasese-ye Moṭāle'at-e Tārīḵ-e Mo'aṣer-e Īrā [In Persian]Najafī, M. (1390 Š.). Ḥokm-e Nāfeẕ-e Āqā Najafī Marja'e Šahīr-e Bīdārī-e Eslāmī dar Eṣfahān, Tehrān: Moasese-ye Moṭāle'at-e Tārīḵ-e Mo'aṣer-e Īrā [In Persian]Stock, E. (1902). The Centenary Volume of the Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East, London: Church Missionary Society.Stock, E. (1899-1916). The History of Church Missionary Society: It Environment, Its Men and Its Work, 4 vols. London: Church Missionary Society.Toch, H. H. (1966). The Social Psychology of Social Movement, London & New York: Routledge.Ward, K. (2000). “Introduction, in The Church Mission Society and World Christianity, 1799-1999, ed. by Ward and Stanley, Richmond: Curzon Press Ltd., 1-42.Waterfield, R. E. (1973). Christians in Persia, London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.https://churchmissionsociety.org/about/our-story/ (accessed on 23 August 2022)http://www.ampltd.co.uk/digital_guides/church_missionary_society_archive_general/editorial%20introduction%20by%20rosemary%20keen.aspx (accessed on 23 August 2022)