Book Review: Haghani School Oral History

September, 2005
ISBN: 2-074-419-964

Since, the concept of Ijtihad has always made it possible for the Jurisprudence to be open to change throughout the history, and for the Shia seminaries to be able to define their activities and educational plans in accordance with the time and spatial conditions. The necessity of responding to people’s needs and questions has made the authorities and clergies to always be prepared to respond to the problems of the day. The history of the activities of the Shiite Ulema during the reign of the Umayyads, Mongols, Safavids, Qajars, Pahlavis the first and second, very well attest to this fact.  

Nevertheless, since, the transformations of and reforms in the Qom theological school during the reign of Pahlavi the second was enmeshed with the Islamic movement in Iran, it has great significance. This is a very diverse and wide subject and this book does not engage with all its aspects. Therefore, this book examines the establishment and activities of one of the cultural centers of religious forces, Haghani School. This research is premised on oral history methodology and explores new aspects of the movement of the religious.

Haghani School was founded by Hossein Haghani in 1962 with the assistance of Ayatollah Milani and some of the clergymen from Qom. The zenith of this school, academically speaking, is the period in which martyr Ayatollah Ali Ghoddousi was the headmaster and martyr Ayatollah Mohammadhussein Beheshti was in charge of the educational matters. Martyr Beheshti is a key thinker and a well known figure of the Islamic movement. A unique characteristic of this school was that its curriculum encompassed modern scientific subjects alongside the old religious subjects. The school was significant among other religious schools in terms of the political role it played. This was of course because of the unique political and cultural ambiance of the school. The influential role of the students of this school in the success of the Islamic Revolution and its aftermath is concrete. This research is based on interviews with prominent figures of this school and other authorized documents.   

The content table of this book is as follows:
Chapter I: Seminaries at the Course of History
Chapter II: Haghani Seminary
Chapter III: Educational Structure
Chapter IV: Political and Theoretical Frameworks
Conclusion: Qom Seminary/Haghani School/ Ayatollah Ghodousi/ Ayatollah Mohammad Hossein Beheshti/ Bahman Shabanzadeh

By: Bahman Sha’banzadeh
Translated by: Jairan Gahan