پژوهش های تاریخی (Sep 2022)
Schools and Newspapers in Zanjan in the Constitutional Era: Challenges and Obstacles
Abstract
Abstract In the Qajar era, manifestations of the new civilization were first established in the centers of modernity such as Tehran and Tabriz. Despite numerous obstacles, it gradually reached other provinces. From institutions and new manifestations, we can name the school and the newspaper that had a great impact on the social and intellectual transformation of the society. In the city of Zanjan, the manifestations of civilization were created with delay despite the fact that this city is located between the two important centers of Tehran and Tabriz. It was due to the social, political, and cultural creation of Zanjan. However, gradually new institutions impress their influence on Zanjan society among some classes and groups. This issue has not yet been the subject of an independent study and its vacancy is felt in studies on the process of establishing the manifestations of a new civilization in different provinces. In this regard, the present study seeks to examine the establishment of schools with newspapers and newspaper reading and those who try this path by explaining the obstacles, difficulties, effects, and results. According to the research claim, due to the relatively free conditions of the Mozaffari era and the cooperation of the executive elements of the government with the reformists, new manifestations were established in Zanjan and were accompanied by some successes. But the competition of the scholars in form of opposing groups that affected different strata created serious obstacles for new institutions and those interested in new manifestations. This study deals with the issue using a descriptive-explanatory method, relying on original sources, newspapers, and archival and family documents. Introduction During the long wars with Tsarist Russia, the need to acquire new knowledge of the west led to the emergence of the idea of reform and the entry of civilized institutions into Iran. The influence of civilization institutions began in the important state of Azerbaijan and reached Tehran during the Nasseri era through a historical process and caused a change in the thinking and discourse of the elites on various issues of the society. Although the Khamseh area of Zanjan as its center was located in the middle of the cities of modernity, the achievements of European civilization reached this city much later than other places. In the Mozaffari era, it enjoyed some civilized institutions. During this period, with the efforts of government agents and the cooperation of people such as Ali Asghar Mushir al-Mamalek, Sheikh Ibrahim Zanjani, and other interested people, schools and newspapers became popular. In this direction, despite these efforts, there were objections from some classes and social groups and the issue of education and the spread of the newspaper as two important factors in the awakening and awareness of different classes faced serious obstacles. However, the study of these new manifestations and institutions has been carried out in historical investigations and studies of focal cities such as Tehran, Tabriz, and other important places. However, a careful study of the current modernity and the causes and factors of constitutional events in different parts of the country requires a historical study of how smaller cities and areas deal with these new institutions. The main issue of this research is to investigate the establishment of institutions and manifestations of civilization in the Qajar era in Zanjan and also the obstacles and difficulties against them. The two main questions of the research are: in what context and how were the manifestations of civilization institutions established in Zanjan in this era? And what were the results of the challenges and obstacles? The study has not been independently researched based on documents archival and newly found documents. Following this issue, if we want to mention the research background in this subject, we should mention some books and articles such as "Study of political and social changes in Zanjan from the Constitutional Revolution to the end of the First World War" by Hossein Khamsei which, without referring to archival and family documents and original sources such as newspapers, the author has paid attention to the constitutional events of Zanjan by repeating the contents of public sources. This mere repetition does not offer new content to readers. The local quarterly magazine has published articles on the constitutional events in Zanjan, including "A Look at the Situation in Zanjan in the Constitutional Revolution" by Ramin Soltani, "A Look at the Life and Political Thought of Mulla Qurban Ali" by Yousef Khanmohammadi, "Parts of the Constitutional Revolution and Adventures from Zanjan that day" by Zabihullah Shahmohammadi, "An investigation into the events in Zanjan in the constitutional movement" by Tavakol Jafari, and "Mirza Abdullah Mojahed and the story of the Zanjan Constitutional Revolution" by Bahman Khatibi which have been published in issues 5, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, and 43 of the mentioned quarterly, respectively. "An Overview on the History of the First Public High School for Boys in Zanjan (Pahlavi High School)" was also published by Farajullah Davoodi and Abdulaziz Ghaemi. While briefly referring to schools such as Kamalieh and Homayouni in the Qajar era, they have discussed the establishment of the first public high school in Zanjan during the first Pahlavi period. Therefore, the subject of these articles is mainly political events and sometimes a brief reference to manifestations of the new civilization based on public content, and often doesn’t contain new findings and points. This study for the first time has investigated the issue by examining the original sources, newspapers of the Qajar era, and new archival and family documents. Materials and Methods In this study, by examining the original sources such as books and manuscripts, newspapers of the Qajar era, and new archival and family documents of this period, the authors try to study the issue of the establishment of schools and newspapers in Zanjan using a descriptive-explanatory method. Discussion of Results and Conclusions The scholars, the most important group in the Zanjan society of the Qajar era, became a serious obstacle against the arrival of the manifestations of the new era with the advent of some prominent elements. Although in the period of Naseraddin Shah Qajar, some manifestations of the new era were opposed to Zanjan, conditions were provided for implementing new ideas in the period of Mozaffari, due to the relative freedom of the society and the interaction of rulers such as Vazirhomayoun with cultural enthusiasts. Prior to Vazirhomayoun’s arrival in Zanjan, the city activists in the field of culture were trying to establish new institutions such as the school. For this purpose, the Kamalieh School was established. In order to further realize and continue this idea, Vazirhomayoun took an important step in creating a strong base for the implementation of his policies by using the competition of influential scholars and being close to a rival faction (Mirza Abolmakarem Mousavi). The continuous cooperation of various groups and activists in the field of culture with the era newspaper, the effort to revive the new educational system and the learning of students, and the use of newspapers as a powerful information tool to explain Zanjan constitutional events to power centers soon led to success in academic exams. Zanjani’s interest and awareness were in taking advantage of the manifestations and new civilization institutions. These short-term results reached full stability and longevity when influential elements and political groups in Zanjan society abandoned the fragmentation, insights, and conflicting activities in the context of constitutionalism. What is clear is that the great scholars who opposed the constitution such as Mullah Qurbanali did not oppose the school and the newspaper. But due to austerity and being confined at home, they were far from the developments of the new era and unaware of the evolving society of the late Qajar era. However, the desire of the trans-regional activists and forces was to focus on the fundamental changes in Zanjan by establishing schools and newspapers. But group and political considerations have damaged the results of these efforts. In the years after the constitutions, Seyyed Mohammad Mousavi, a pro-constitutional cleric, after reaching the religious leadership of the city, ignored the demands of the lower class and complained to the press and Mirza Aliasghar Mushir al-Mamalek during the constitutional years. He selected a party in response to the events in Zanjan. It should be noted that Mirza Mahmoud, one of the distinguished students of Zanjan schools, in spite of learning religious sciences in the guise of a clergyman as a source of imitation in the Pahlavi period, paid attention to religious sciences. Thus, although the efforts of the custodians of the institutions of civilization were successful in the short term, the long-term results showed the failure of these reforms in Zanjan. This failure showed that despite the efforts of cultural activists and reformist agents, the traditional insight among the various classes and groups in Zanjan has been a great and serious obstacle to the institutions of the new age.
Keywords
