The Multiple Formations of Religious Education`s Curricula Against Social Forces in Islamic Schools During the Second Pahlavi Period

This article illustrates how the curricula of religious education were formed vis-a-vis social forces in the Islamic schools during the second Pahlavi reign. Utilizing historical discourse analysis and examining four schools as case studies, we argue that these encounters led to four kinds of knowledge formation: "the generalization of religious knowledge" in the schools of the Islamic Education Society, "rational verification of religious knowledge" in Alavi School, "scholarly comparison of religious knowledge" in Kamal School, and "the systematization of religious knowledge" in the Refah school. The first formation faced the foundations of other rival religious discourses by emphasizing the Qur'an, the confrontation of jurisprudence against popular religion and superstitions, and confronting civil laws to eliminate corruption and achieve progress. The second formation was shaped along with a philosophical approach in encountering with the principles of Marxism and of Baha'iism, and providing a wise religion for immunity from corruptive lifestyles and using Islamic ethics against human social laws. The third formation was shaped by looking for compromise between science and religion versus religious superstitions and the materialists, a chosen jurisprudence versus the formal jurisprudence, and the confrontation with the modern state through a militant religion. The final formation was formed by using theology against other competing discourses, designing efficient social systems versus the modern government, and self-making for providing a good environment as opposed to isolated individual life forms. According to the results of each formation, there can be four inspirations as follows: turning from the internal religious language to the general and extra-religious language, turning from the affirmative language in Muslim philosophy to the speculative language in general philosophy, turning from the necessary relationship between science and religion to a possible relationship, and turning from the absolute inclusion of morality in religion to mutual partial relationship between them.