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tIII1....EI8nBItarY'Ixtbllkl:_.Pm-l....-,nnMohammad J. ZareanA
thesis submitted to theFaculty ofGraduate Studies and Researchin
partial fulfillment of the requirements for theDegree of Dactor of
PhilosophyDepanment of Culture and Valuesin EducationFaculty of
EducationMcGiII University, MontralOctober, 1998o Copyright
Mohammad J. Zarean19981+1National Libraryof CanadaAcquisitions
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thse ni des extraits substantielsde celle-ci ne doivent tre
imprimsou autrement reproduits sans sonautorisation.0-612-S0302-X
ii"?J",fk., %nwof .9fUa4.9?Jene{:,iat.tIu!, .ItJr.e.,nanu!l
t&wiJJr.,.CXnu",can-?J.. r-.. _"t-!...J1Ji,. rI; 4f.. // .."f
(J. ..(/ ('"t.i .1""A passage from Fm. 3nfGrade, 1372 [1993],
p.1.See p. 127.iiiACKNOWLEDGMENTThis dissertationcouldnever
havebeencompletedwithout thesupportof many people. 1 wish to
expressmy gratitude to ail institutions, professors,colleagues and
friends for their practical and moral encouragementthroughout the
periodofits writing. Sincere thanks are due to my
thesisadvisorProfessorJingLin, without
whosewhole-heartedbackingthisworkwould never have seenthe light
ofday. 1 amalsodeeply indebted tothemembers ofmy supervision
committee, Professor Eric Ormsby, fromtheInstituteof
IslamicStudies, McGill University, andProfessorsDavidSmithand
Elizabeth Wood, bothfromthe Department ofCulture and Values
inEducation, McGill University, for their criticism, advice and
constantsupport.1 amindebtedtomygreat educator,
AyatollahMesbahYazdi whohasbeenthe chief
sourceofinspirationandencouragement for me duringmystudies
inIranandCanada. 1 alsofeel
blessedtohavereceivedagenerousscholarshipfromtheEducational
andResearchInstitute of ImamKhomeini.Qum, Iran. 1wish, inparticular
to acknowledge Dr. S. Reza Husaini, theHigher Educational
AdvisoryinOttawa, whosteadilysupportedmeduringmy studyin
Canada.Anumberof other McGill Universitystaff wereof great
helptomeinthis process. 1 would particularly like to thank the
staff in thelibraries of theivDepartment of
CultureandValuesinEducationandtheInstitute of IslamicS t u d i e s
~ McGill University. Thanks are also due to Steve Millier for
hisassistancein editing thisthesis.1would like to express my
appreciation and gratitude to my variousfriends
andcolleagueswhoprovidedvaluablecriticismat various stages inthe
preparationofthis work. In gatheringthe materials for myresearch
1received considerable helpfrommy dear friendMr. A. Haghani. He has
beensahelpful that 1 can hardly say how much 1 owe to him.Unlimited
gratitude goes to mybelovedfather and mother, andtomydear
wifeHouriehandouradoredchildrenFatemehandAli, whopatientlybore with
my neglect of them, and yet provided me with the calmenvironment 1
needed to complete this
study.vAB5TRACTAuthor:Title:Department:Degree 50ught:Mubammad J.
ZareanIslamicvaluesandtbeir reOectiun in the
(ranianelementarytextbooks:(slamizationin post-Revolutionary
(ranDepartment uf Culture and Values in
EducationPh.O.Virtuallyfromtheoutset of
the1978-79IslamicRevolutioninIran, scholarsbegantastudytheevent
fromdifferent social, political andeconomicangles.Vet, the rapid
speed of the Revolution, its predominantly Islamic
character.andthenumerouschangesthat haveoccurredduringthelast
nineteenyearsremain sources of mystery to many students of this
area. The goals andphilosophy of education and its relation to the
basic foundations of theRevolutionisoneissuehowever that has
beengivenless consideration.Thisthesisisanattempt
toidentifyandstudythecultural foundations
andthosereligiousvaluesunderlyingtheeducational systemof today's
Iran. Thestudy examines some of the elementary school textbooks
from both thePahlavi and Islamic Republic eras, contrasting Pahlavi
educational policy.whichtendedtowardssecularization,
Westernizationandde-Islamizationof thecountry, with the attempt of
the IslamicRepublic to Islamize ail aspects ofsociety,
includingschools. Thestudyespeciallylooksat therelation
betweenIslamic culture, religion and the curriculum. The study
stresses that schoolplays afundamental
roleintheIslamizationofthepost-RevolutionaryIraniansociety. Howone
defines Islamization, however, is crucial. This concept isclarified
throughascrutinyof the process of Islamization
visibleintextbookreformbyfocusingonthespiritual, moral, social
andpolitical values insomeschool
texts.viRSUMAuteur:Titre:Dpartement:Diplme:Mobammad J.
ZareaDLesvaleursislamiqueset leurreOet daDs les
maDuelsdel'coleprimaire: l'IslamisatioDeDIraD
post-rvolutioDDaireDpartemeDt de la Culture et des Valeurs en
ducatioD,UniversitMcGillDoctorat sPhilosophieDepuis le dbut de
laRvolutionIslamique de1978-79 enIran,lesspcialistesont
virtuellement entrepris l'tude de l'vnement partir d'angles
sociaux,politiques et conomiques diffrents. Cependant, le
dveloppement rapide de laRvolution, son caractre islamique
prdominant ainsi que les nombreuxchangements qui sont survenus
durant les dix neuf dernires annes demeurentunmystrepour denombreux
tudiants encedomaine. Lesobjectifs et laphilosophiedel'ducation,
ainsi quesarelationavec lesbasesfondamentales de laRvolutionest une
question qui ne fut gure considre.Cettethsetenterad'identifier
etd'analyserlesfondementsculturelsainsi queles
valeursreligieusessous-jacentes dusystme ducationel del''ran
d'aujourd'hui.L'tudeexaminequelquesmanuels del'coleprimaire, datant
la foisdel'poquePahlavi et de la Rpublique Islamique, tout en
contrastant les politiquesducationnellesdesPahlavis, qui visaient
lascularisation, 'occidentalisationet ladislamisation dupays. avec
le principal effort de la Rpublique Islamiquedontl'objectif est non
seulement l'islamisation des coles. mais aussitousles aspects dela
socit. La recherche portera une attention particulire la relation
troiteexistant entre la cultureislamique, la religion et le
curriculumadapt par lesystmed'ducation. L'tude insistera aussi sur
le rle fondamental de Icole dansl'islamisationdelasocit
iraniennepost-rvolutionnaire. Laquestion dfinissantl'islamisation
est donc cruciale cet gard. Ainsi, le concept devient plus clair
grce un examen du processus d'islamisation, visible dans la
rformedes manuelsscolaireset ce, enseconcentrant sur
lesvaleursspirituelles, morales, socialesetpolitiques de certains
de ces textes.viiTABLE Of CONTENTSAcknowledgment iiiAbstract '"
vRsum viTable of Contents viiTable of Figures xiNotes on
Transliteration _ _ xiiiIntroduction 2IRAN AND THE 1978-79ISLAMIC
REVOLUTION ............................................. _. __
............................. 3LITERATUREREVIEW 5THIS SruDY
.......................................... __
.......................................................... _
8Objectives and Questions _ 8Scope ofthe Study _ 9Method%g}' _ _
10Significance and Limitations _ _ 16A BriefOverview ofthe Chapters
18SOCIALIZATION THROUGH TEXTBOOK5
...................................................................
19MoralValues 25Gender Role 26Polilical Attitude 27Critical
Thinking Approach 29PARTISocial Change and the Context
ofIslamization of lranian EducationChapter 1: Iran, People and
IdentityINTRODUCTION _ 33IRANIAN IDENTIIT: DIFFERENT VIEWS 34IRAN
BEfOREISLAM _._ _ _ _ 38THEEMERGENCE Of ISLAMINIRAN: BLESSING VS.
VIOLENCE - _ .42Role ofIranians in Expanding Islam 48Iranian
Nationalldentity - 50Shicism 53ISLAMIN MODERNIRA.N
56The/978-79IsJamic Revolution 59CONCLUSION: IRANIANI S L A ~ , l I
C IDENTITY 60viiiChapter 2: Imperial Education in Pre-Revolutionary
IranINTRODUCTION
........................................................................................................63EDUCr\TIONUNDER
THEPAHLAVIS
................................................................................64GOALS
AND
OREAMS..................................................................................69a.
Persian Nationality 69b. TheIYest as anIdeal 73c. De-lslami=ation
79d. The Centraliry ofMonarchy 88STEP-BY-STEP
CHANGE............................................................................................................90Chapter
3: 1978-791ranian Islamic Revolution: A Revolution in
ValuesIl'o'TRODUCTION
..............................................................................................................93IRAN
UNDER THE [SLAMIC
REPUBLIC.................................................................................95GOALS
ANDPOLICIES...............................................................................................98a.
lndependence 99b.Sef.t:confidence 102c. Purification 104RESISTANCE
AND
C01'lTROVERSIES...............................................................................
107REJECTED VALUES
....................................................................................
110a. ,Vationalism 111b. JVesrernZation 114c. Secularization
117CONCLUSION AND
REFLECTIONS...............................................................................
118PART IlThe Process of (slamizationand Its Impact on
TextbooksChapter 4: (slamic Spiritual Values &Their Teacbing in
TextbooksINTRODUCTION
.................................................................................................................
1221. ATHEr-..1ATIC ANALYSIS
................................................................................................
123God-centra/iry 124Islam 128Prophethood 128TheQur;in
129Resurrection Day 131lmamate 131II.THE ISLAMIC REpUBLlc'S
EOUCATIONAL GOALS AND POLlCIES
.............................................. 133III. (SLAMIC
SPIRJTUALITY
.........................................................................................................
137Foundations ofIslamic Spiriluality 137Religious-Colored
139Resistance to Secularization 142Divinism(God-centrality)in Islam
, 144Spiritualiry and Social and Worldly A./fairs 146Spirituality
and Morality 148Ascent in Spiritualil)1: Stages 148EDlJCATION FOR
SPIRlTUALITY................................................................................................
150Purification 152Concluding Remaries 154ixChapter 5:Islamic Moral
Values & Their Teaching in TextbooksINTRODUCTION
................................................................................................................................
1561. AT H E ~ 1 A T I C ANALYSIS
...............................................................................................................
157II. THE[SLAMIC REPUBLlc'SEDUCATIONAL GOALS AND POLlCIES 170Ill.
ISLAMICMORALlTY: ROOTS & DEFINITION 173RELIGIONAND MORALlTY:
ARE THEY DIFFERENT 178Manifestations ofIslamieMorality
182/Yfodeling 185Imitation and Rational Thinlcing
190CONCLUDINGREMARKS 191Chapter 6:Islamic Social Values & Their
Teaching in Textbooks[NTRODUCTION 192[. ATHEMATIC ANALYSIS 1931.
Institutions in the Textbook 194a. Institution of Family 194b.
Institution ofSchool. 199c. Institution of Mosque 2012. Major
Social Values inTexlbooks 203SOr..fEREFLECTIONS 207II. THEISLAMIC
REpUBLlC'SEDUCATIONAL GOALSAND POLlCIES 208Fami/y Goals 2111[1.
ISLAMAND SOCIAL VALUES 214UTOPIA
..........................................................................................................................................
214,4,yfesbah's Model ofan Islamie Utopia 2151.
(slamicUtopia:ADivine Promise 2162. Relationships 216Relation\"'ith
Almighty God 216Relationwith Self 218Relation\\'ith Nature
218Relation\\'ith the Other People 2193.Institutions 219Education
in an IslamicUtopia _ 219f\Rcflection 221CONCLUDINGREMARKS
222Chapter 7:Islamic Political Values & Their Teaching in
TextbooksINTRODUCTION 2241. ATHEMATIC ANALYSIS 225J.
Politieallnstlutions in Elemenlary Sehool Texlbooks
226ThefslanlicStatc 226Leadership _ 227Umma 229IslanlicRevolution
230The(slanlic Republic 235a. Constitution 236b. Leadership 236(ran
& lranians _ 2372. Poli/ieal Values in Elemenlary School
Textbooks 238Justice 238Indcpendencc andFn:cdom 242II.
THEISLAMICREPUBLlC'SEDUCATIONAL GOALS AND POLICIES
................................................. 243a. Domeslie
Polieies 244b. ForeignPolicies _ 245III. ANISLAMIC APPROACH
TOPOLlTlCALINSTITUTION AND VALUES 245Religion and Politics
246Political Background in Shfism 247S h i ~ i s m and the Future _
250Shi/ism and Leadership 251Freedom 256Justice _ _ 259CONCLUDING
REMARKS
...............................................................................................................261Conclusion
264REFLECTIONS'"
.............................................................................................................................2641.
TheIranian nation retains anIranian-Islamic idemil)" _ 2652. There
is a contradiction between the pre- and post-Revolutionary
educational values. and thisis mainly based on the policy
ofde-Islami=ationvs. Islami=ation ofthe country. 2683. Islami=ation
is grounded in the sense ofarelation between religion and the
people at a socialpractice level as weil as an individual leve!.
269-1. Values ofIslam are c/ear(v evident in educational po/icies
and school textbooles in post-Re'\.'olutionary Iran _ _
271QUESTIONSFOR FURTHER
RESEARCH.............................................................................................2741.
IsteachingIslamicvaluesrochildrenaninstructivecourseorasort
ofindoctrination? _ _ 2742. In addition to rextbooks. what is the
role ofthe teacher in the teaching ofvalues inpresenttime? _
"""""""""_ 275Appendixes 278ApPENDIX A 279ApPENDIX B 283APPENDIX C
287Bibliograpby 292[. BOOKS AND ARTiCLES 292[1. TEXTBOOKS 302a.
Textbooks published before Pahlavis 302b. Textbooks published
in19-10s 302c. Textbooles published in1950s & /960s _.303d.
Textbooks pllblished in1970s 303e. Textbooks published under rhe
IslamicRepublic 3031. Farsi _ 303:!. Ta' limai Dini _
3043.Ta'lmai-I Ijtima'i 304l(jTABLE Of FIGURESChapter1Figure1-1:
TheShc ImamsChapter 2Figure 2-1: Text of 2ndgrade. 1343 [1964],
lessons 22.23 and 24.Figure 2-2: Text of 2ndgrade. 1977. lessons 6.
7 and 8.Figure 2-3:Women's dress before and after the
Revolution.Chapter 3Figure 3-1: The slogan of"independence.
freedom. Islamic Republic" in lranian elementaryTextbooksFigure
3-2: A comparison between the concepts ofPahlavization and
IsIamization.55727484101110Chapter 4Figure 4-1: Spiritual items in
the elementary textbooks for the Persian and reIigious
subjectspublished under the IslamicRepublic 125Figure 4-2:
Spiritual values in textbooks 127Figure 4-3:A simple illustration
of the story of the Prophet Abraham. 130Figure 4-4: The title of
the Ministry of Education in the Islamic RepubIic 136Figure
4-5:Adaptation of stages ofspirituality with different ages.
149Figure 4--6: Tabataba's view regarding spiritual stages (See
Tabataba (1984). EnglishTranslation by S. S. A. Rizvi. (Tehran:
WOFIS). v. 1. pp. 125-128.) 151Chapter 5Figure S-I: Indirect
teaching of moral values. 160Figure S-2:Moral topics inserted in
the elementary textbooks (Farsi& duu) 162Figure
S-3:Appreciation to teacher 166Figure 5--4: A Definition of good
and evilin a general view. 176Figure S-5: Virtues in TabatabaTs
view. 184Chapter 6Figure 6-1: Simplicity of aMuslim familyFigure
6-2:A Portrait of a MuslimFamilyFigure 6-3: Gender segregationin
the schools.Figure 6--4:Mosque. a socio-religious
institution.Figure 6-5: Mesbah'smodel of an
Islamicutopia.195197201202217xiiChapter 7Figure 7-1: The Prophet's
mausoleum in Medina. where the first Islamic State created.
227Figure 7-1:/fa}} ceremony as a great manifestation of the
Islamic umma. 230Figure 7-3: Amr Kabr developed Iran during his
three year responsibility as the Prime Minister. 231Figure
7-4:Portraits ofpoliticalleaders and activists in reeent Iran.
Sayyid lamai al-dn. and MrzRiQKirmn. 232Figure 7-5: The text is
iIIustrated with a pieture of Ayatollah Sayyid f:{asan Mudarris.
234Figure7 ~ : lranian people from different ethnie background hold
its flag together. 237Figure 7-7:Illustration oftwo ditferent
standards ofliving. (aho\le) Pahlavis' Palace, 241Figure 7-8: A
currency in Iran, iIIustrated bya pannit of Ayatollah Mudarris and
his well-knownmotto, "Our politics is precisely our religion and
our religionis precisely our polities." 247Figure 7-9: Leadershipin
Shcism 255xiiiNOTES ON TRAN8LITERATIONThe systemof transliteration
used in this thesis is the one employed by theInstitute of Islamic
Studies, McGill University, with the exception that
Arabieprepositions are joined with the article 'ar' whenever they
arefollowedbyit.Arabie Penian'":' b b":'P
t t
th!cj jI!chL., .,tkh khJd didb!.J r rjz zjzh..r S S..;. sh
shshort vowels a i1U ,--al ifloialong vowelsyawithtashddwaArabie
Peniaa..", ..;-4 J. Ji. te etgh gh.;f fJ q q.sk k.$gJ 1 1rm m n n h
h.w woS yYlong vowels 1 aJ
diphtongs 101 ay awin A- ahi4ifah alHowever, thoseArabie
orPersianwords that areusedinEnglishdictionariesarenot
transliteratedinthisthesis. Accordinglywewill
employthespellingayatollah"andnotyatuWih." Also, thereare
sornefamousnames and words that
arefrequentlyusedinthisthesisandarenottransliterated. Theexact
transliteration of thesenamesand theway theywill be employedin this
studyis asfollows:Khumayni r::7(Yazd) r::7Mutahhari
r3"Mul:tammadRi4 Shah r::7Tab!abal r::7Riza Shah
r3"r::?KhomeiniMesbah
(Vazdi)MotahhariMohammadRezaShahTabataba'iReza
ShahulamaIntroduotionIran and the 1978-79 Islamic
RevolutionLiterature ReviewThis StudyObjectives and QuestionsScope
of the StudyMethodologySignificance and LimitationsA Brief Overview
of the ChaptersSocialization through TextbooksMoral ValuesGender
RolePolitical AttitudeCritical Thinking
ApproachINTRODUCTIONTheMinistry of Education of Iranis of theview
thateducationisawayof worshipping God9a concept which clearly
indicates the relationshipbetween education and religion. The
motivation for this dissertationemanates from a desire to show and
highlight the importance of
thisrelationship9itsmeritsanddemeritsinIraniansociety.
Onewaytoexaminethis relationship is through an analysis ofthe
actual texts used in Iranianschools. Inthis thesis 1 will
analyzetextbookspresentlyinuseonr.'Persianlanguage9""social
studies"and"religiousstudies99fromthefirst tothe
fifthgradesaltheelementarylevel. Thestudy of thetextswill
illustratewhattheIslamic Republic has beentryingtoaccomplish in its
attempt to establishIslamic religious values through educational
institutions.'1 Another consideration thatinduced me to undertake a
study of Islamic educationin present-dayIranhasbeenthedifferent
depictionsandunderstandings of bothIslamandIran. Despite the
keyrole ofreligiosity in the Revolutionil is given very linle
attention in most studies related to the 1979Revolution. Moreover.
because of different interpretations, personal beliefs
andmisunderstandings.the Revolution has not been properly weighed.
Sorne examples of this approachtowards Islam.Shcismand Iran may be
found in H. Ozmonand Craver (1990). PhiiosophicaJ foundations
ofTodoso. 1 will first giveabrief account of Iranandthe legacyof
the1978-79Revolution. asweilas an exposition of thetransformation
of valuesin education following that change in political system.
1will also try toIntroduction ----------------------------3present
inthis introductiontheargument of this thesis
andasurveyofitsstructure. includingaliteraturereview of thetopicand
anassessment of theobjective. scope and methodologyofthis study.
The last segment ofthisintroduction elaborates on the reasons why
this issue should befocusingon theimportance of studying
"socialization through textbooks.liAI Ail 'II Illl-lllllAMle
1IIIlITITwentyyearsago, onacoldJanuaryday, thecity of Qum:!
inIranwaswitness to anangrydemonstrationagainst an
articleprintedinoneofthestate-run daily newspapers.3The anonymous
author' claimed that theoppositionto the monarchywas composedofa
combinationof"red" and"black" revolutionarygroups. For theauthor of
thearticle, "red" signifiedthecommunist partieswhoweredependent
ontheEasternBloc, mainlytheUSSRat that time. The
reactionarygroupswere, ontheotherhand.thase religious groups and
ulama (clerics) who were opposed to themonarchy and its
Westernizing policies. The author of the article thenapplied sorne
harsh epithets to Ayatollah one of the masteducation. 4lhed.
(Columbus: Merrill) p. 99;CE. Farah(1987), Islam: Be/iefs and
observances. 4lhed. (NewYork: Barron's), pp. 175-6. andS.D. Tansey.
(1995), Po/ilics: Thebasics. (NewYork:Routledge).p. 83.2 The city
of Qum. located150 km.to the south ofTehran. is the second holiest
city of Iran. due to thepresence there of the shrine ofsister of
ImamcAli al-RiQ; the eighthShfiImam.The cityis also the site ofa
major Shf'i lslamic seminary.3 I!.tihi:il. (Tehran) [a daily
newspaperJ. no15506. 17 Diy1356 [7 January1978J.J The author was
identifiedin the newspaper by the pen name Al:tmad Rashidi
.5AyatollahSayyid Msawi Khomeini (1900-1989). knownas ImamKhomeini.
was anIranian Shi. p. 44.T I I I ~ D fIBI.ZItIIIII.1tI-.....
llx_.Theprocessof IslamizationinIranandits impact onthechangeof
values insociety will be examined in thesechapters. Spiritual,
moral, social,cultural and political values will bescrutinized
respectively. In eachchapter, there will be first
anexaminationofthetextbooksandthena review of the Islamic
approachestoward the related values.Chapter-4ISLAMIC SPIRITUAL
VALUES &THEIR TEACHING IN
TEXTBOOKSIII.IIICII.Il\.1ypurposeintheprecedingsectionwastoclarifygeneral
policiesthatguided the educational systemin Iran both before and
after the 1978-79Revolution. While the Pahlavis made every effort
to revive pre-Islamictraditions in Iran. the post-Revolutionary
period witnessed a process ofIslamizationinaHinstitutions,
including educational ones. Conceptssuchasindependence,
self-confidenceandpurification emphasizedbytheAyatollahKhomeini in
his speeches and writings, accompanied the process ofIslamization
in the country. In this sectionthe impact ofthis process
onspiritual. moral, andsocial values will be examined.
InmyexplanationofIslamicconcepts, I will focus onthethought of a
numberof contemporaryIranianShlc
scholars318whoseargumentsformthebasis of thepolicies of theIslamic
Republic. If it leads to a debate that yields a better
alternative318 For moreinfonnation about these scholars. see p. 15
ofthis thesis.Chapter-1: [slamic Spiritual Values 123explanation..
1shall be weil satisfied. What 1offer here can provide
onlysorneillumination on theissue of Islamization.Thepurpose of
thischapter in particular is toclarify
theIslamicspiritualstandpoint anditsrelation toandimpact on
educationfromthepoint of viewof the aforementioned scholars. By
focusing on1 will notexclude religiousheliefs andrituals;rather 1
will try to elaborate the spiritualaspectsof Islamintheirreligious
contexteTherelationbetweenspiritualityand religion will also be
clarified. From sorne religious standpoints,spirituality is more or
less synonymous with religion. In althoughspirituality, ina sense,
is onlyone sideof the coin, it is oneof the mainfacetsof this
religionand. inasense.. it isoneof the foundations basedonwhichthe
other aspects maybe understood. At the same time, it does
notcontradict in any way the so-called worldly aspects ofthe faith,
such associalandpolitical doctrines.Thischapter will
pursuethediscussioninthreeparts. Thefirst part willbea
thematicanalysisof spiritual values inthetextbooks.
Thesecondpartwill bea short reviewof educational
policyinIranregardingthis specifiesubject, andthethirdpart will
throwlight onthe definitionandrealityofspirituality in Islam and
the relation between lslamic spirituality andeducation.1. A'IEMITIC
AIILYIIIBesides the books of Ta'lm;it-i dn wa farhang-i lslam
[religiousstudies and[slamic culture}. which are devoted to
religious foundations,beliefsandrituals. booksonFrs
(Persianlanguage) beartoalargeextenttheresponsibility of
transferringreligious andspiritual valuestochildren.
(nIslamicValues and Their Impact on Educalion 124order toobserve
theimpact of Islamicspiritualvaluesinschool 1will focusmy analysis
on the concepts related to spirituality in these texts.First, we
must define the spiritual concepts that we will belookingfor.
Perhapsthemostimportant of theseisthebelief inmonotheismor
God-centrality. This provides the foundation for the other
principlesofIslam, amongthemost important of whicharebelief
intheprophethood ofMuhammadandtheDayof Resurrection. Theideathat
IslamcompletesaIlother religions and that theQur'iinis thelast
message sent from Godisakeyconcept as weil. Finally, it is firmly
believedthat theProphet MuhammadandtheinfallibleImams were
appointedtoguidepeopletowards God. Theseprincipal beliefs, whichare
the primaryones encountered intextbooks onreligious
studiesandonFars, are listedinFigure4-1. Thecheckmarks inthe
tableindicate the presence of clear references to each belief in
therelatedtext.liad-clntralltyAgeneral glance at the table in the
following page indicates that theconcept ofGod-centrality is
oneofthe mainthernes amongthe others inspiritual valuesfield. This
concept informsalmost everypage of
thesetexts.FaithinoneGodisthegoal of education. asit isthegoal of
everyMuslim.What follows are portionsof theprefacetothereligious
textbooks writtenfor the second and third year prirnary school,
which clearly reflect thisperception:Thepurposeof
thisbookandteachingisnot tomemorizeandanswerthingscorrectly.
Theessential aimsaretodevelopthespiritandlife andtocompletethelives
of children... Theaimistheinternalizationof
correctreligiousbelief... TheaimistoChapter 4: [slamie Spiritual
Values - (25fll.n1-1: 1,lrltlll Il Iltll1Ur' t.II..... f.r III.
P.nll' 1 r.UII "'J.'I' ,.'UIIIrtlll 111le
,.lIlIeJllGrade2ndGrade3,dGrade4lhGrade5thGrade
, .. ,'.-'C-'iF,
.-...'='
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