On November 13th, 2003, the document of the twenty-year vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran was announced to the leaders of the three branches of government, with the goal of Iran becoming a developed country with the first rank in economy, science and technology in the region by the year 2025. This vision aimed to establish Iran as an inspiring and revolutionary Islamic country, and a constructive and influential player in international relations, 22 years after its announcement.

And from that date, the political system shifted from investing in small industries to high-flying projects such as satellite startups, sending humans and animals into space, providing military advisory assistance in the region and the world, and simulations of animals including the Iranian cheetah, intercontinental missiles, and so on. Officials also talked about global management.

There is no doubt that launching satellites, building long-range missiles, nanotechnology, and nuclear energy are characteristics of an advanced country. However, many advanced countries that focus on these issues first establish their economic infrastructure and do not sacrifice small industries for these projects. They grow simultaneously in both small and advanced industries. But countries with outdated economic infrastructure and where many people live below the poverty line only pursue these ambitious projects for the sake of advertising and showing themselves as an advanced country in the world. In Iran, we also see extensive advertising of these issues.

One of the reliable, useful, and cost-effective media for advertising in the field of school textbooks has been because its audience:

A) I am forced to read these promotional materials.

B) Due to young age, they do not have the ability to analyze national issues and do not research the accuracy or validity of these matters, and easily believe them.

The impact of images on students’ minds and their lasting effect is much greater than that of adults, to the extent that many people still remember with a good feeling the stories and pictures from their elementary and middle school textbooks.

Of course, from the beginning of the revolution, the country’s officials were aware of the impact of textbooks and universities, and one of the first events that happened during those years was the change of textbooks.

As an example, a page from the first grade Farsi book before the revolution and its changes after the revolution is shown, in which the change in ideology and lifestyle can be observed. In both images, a family with two children, a boy and a girl, is depicted, but in the image after the revolution, the women are wearing hijab and the men have beards. The dining table – which was a symbol of elitism at that time – has been removed and the family is sitting on the ground. Additionally, we can see that in the first image they are eating with a spoon, but in the changed image after the revolution, eating is shown with hands!

After the announcement of the 20-year vision document of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the leaders of the three branches of government, we witnessed a change in the country’s educational system and a fundamental change in textbooks, to the extent that the content of textbooks underwent significant changes.

Of course, in all textbooks around the world, efforts are made to strengthen national pride, patriotism, hope for life, spirit of consultation and participation, religious beliefs, and peaceful coexistence among students; but what is concerning is whether all the information presented in our textbooks about the country’s progress and heroism is true or has it been included only to instill a sense of superiority?

Here, I will mention a few examples:

For example, on February 2nd, 2015, the Fajr satellite was launched into space with the Safir-1B satellite, to be placed in a 450-kilometer orbit around Earth. It was claimed that this satellite would remain in orbit for a year and a half. However, independent sources have announced that the satellite crashed on February 26th, 2015, equivalent to March 6th, 2015.

However, from that year, the following image can be seen on the back cover of the eighth grade math book:

Regarding the scientific, technological, and military advancements of the country, in various textbooks from elementary school to twelfth grade, discussions have been brought up. As I have taught mathematics for several years, I will mention a few examples from them.

In the book of Mathematics 2, in the lesson of logarithms, the branch of Mathematics-Physics is discussed.

After changing the books, the above content was modified in Mathematics 2 and was included in the chapter on powers and algebraic expressions.

In the ninth grade textbook, the lesson is about power.

Eighth Grade Mathematics Book

These matters can be found abundantly in the textbook.

And now four years remain until that great promise, and it feels like as we get closer to 1404, the country’s officials become more worried; because since that year until now, the country has been moving in the opposite direction of the vision document. Not only have we not become the top economy in the region, but we have also fallen behind our own economy in 1382.

As a result, efforts are being made to use a variety of colorful platforms such as television channels, various satellite and virtual spaces, and religious platforms alongside textbooks to create the feeling that “we are the first in the region in terms of economy, technology, and science, and many advanced countries in the world are seeking to learn from us.”

As far as the field of coronavirus is concerned, despite the fact that many advanced countries in the world were caught off guard and at a time when the coronavirus vaccine had not yet reached mass production in these advanced countries, officials tried to downplay the number of deaths and showcase devices such as the Corona Finder or multiple vaccines in an attempt to create the illusion that they have controlled the virus in Iran. They also claimed that several advanced countries have asked for their experience to be shared with them, trying to create the same feeling of being first, as was promised in the 1404 vision.

The question is, when in the media and satellite networks, which have viewers from various spectrums and ages, some of whom are able to analyze these matters, can officials easily manipulate the situation? In textbooks that have their own secluded courtyard and target children and teenagers, how will they present the situation?

In the ninth grade social studies textbook, which was supposed to be available to students in the current academic year and in October 2021, it was claimed that Iran “was able to be among the top countries in the world in treating the coronavirus disease.”

They were forced to change after following the opinions of the owners in virtual spaces. Apparently, after the decrease of COVID-19 in the months of Khordad and Tir, officials, thinking that the virus had disappeared, tried to quickly take advantage of this accidental success for themselves.

One of the advertising topics in textbooks is the political issues of the country. The struggle against America, downplaying the role of revolutionaries who have a radical stance towards the government’s actions – especially in the history section – and vice versa are among these issues. For example, changing the famous photo of the fighters on the day of the liberation of Khorramshahr, where in the photo, the fighters had hung pictures of Imam Khomeini on both sides of the entrance to the mosque, but the photo on the cover of the sixth grade textbook in 2017 has been changed with Photoshop so that the poster on the left side of the mosque’s entrance is turned into a poster of the Leader.

After the 1388 elections, in the third grade social studies textbook of the old system, the picture of the cabinet of martyr Rajai, which was previously in this book, was changed to remove Mir Hossein Mousavi from the group of ministers.

Interestingly, even supporters of the government are protesting against some of the images in textbooks.

From the painting on the cover of the third grade math book, which shows three boys and two girls playing, they finally managed to remove the image of the two girls. To everyone’s surprise and amazement, in the year 99, the cover of the third grade math book was seen without the pictures of the girls.

And when the commotion and uproar increased, they gave Ata the photo and imagined the cover of the third grade math book for the new year as follows…

Or supporters of the government in 1399 condemn the state for removing the picture of the Quran from one of the images in the first grade textbook due to document 2030.

Until the head of the Educational Research and Planning Organization was forced to respond and stated that the reason for its removal was because the Quran was placed in the middle of a television table and this issue was accompanied by complaints and it was stated that the Quran does not belong there and should be in a more prominent place. Therefore, it was decided to find a new place for the Quran, but since a suitable place was not found in the picture and on other pages of the same book, attention was repeatedly drawn to Quranic verses, it was decided to completely remove the picture of the Quran from this image and replace it with a vase.

And of course, in the new year, this image is expected to be changed as follows in the first grade book: (3).

At the end, it is worth mentioning three studies related to Iranian textbooks.

A) “The”

Pathology of the Impact of Political Changes on the Content of Contemporary History Textbooks.

In the abstract of this research, prepared by Mansoureh Karimi Ghahi, a PhD graduate in history from Alzahra University, it is stated: “Revolutions, social movements, wars, and the way power is concentrated or distributed among political parties and movements are prominent examples of political changes that lead to the transformation of the moral and political, economic, and social foundations of a country. The most significant reflection of this transformation can be seen in the education system of the country; as the government strives to convey its moral and ideological foundations through educational materials, especially textbooks, to children and adolescents. Among textbooks, one of the most important books that reflect the societal changes and policies of governments is history textbooks. This article aims to identify the impact of political changes on the content of contemporary Iranian history textbooks, using a comparative approach to examine pre- and post-revolution history textbooks. Its main concern is to answer the question of how political changes have affected the historiography of textbooks

In this study, examples of historical changes based on political interests were mentioned. To the extent that in the history book of the third year of high school in 1386, a whole lesson was dedicated to the impositions imposed on Iran by colonial powers, without mentioning any of the concessions given to Russia.

B)

Investigation and analysis of the stories in the first grade Persian book in Iran and comparison with the stories in the first grade language book in two Eastern and Western countries, namely China and Germany.

Dr. Alireza Abedin, a clinical psychologist with a PhD and a university professor, has chosen all the stories from the first grade Persian book in Iran, including 51 stories published in 1391, as well as 44 stories from the first grade book in China and 26 stories from the four books in the first grade in Germany, as research samples.

The results of this study show that the needs for “compliance” and obedience in Iran, “progress” in Germany, and “respect” in China are the top three essential needs in these three countries.

The investigator concludes:

The Iranian child learns to be a beggar and receiver (consumer and lazy), while the Chinese child learns to be a giver and provider (producer and worker).

The German child fundamentally does not seek anything (independence). Based on this, it can be concluded that the Iranian child learns in their textbooks to be obedient and submissive. The Iranian child’s gaze is either downwards or from bottom to top. The Chinese child’s gaze is around and has a circular view. However, the German child has a forward and purposeful movement and gaze. They focus on a point and strive to reach it in a specific direction, and ultimately succeed.

A) List of the worst textbooks in the world.

This article, written by the journal Foreign Policy, founded by Samuel Huntington and Warren Munchel, presents a list of the worst textbooks in the world. The article focuses on textbooks from Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Russia, and critiques them. The criticisms of Iranian textbooks include promoting first-class citizenship for certain members of society based on their official religious beliefs, promoting second-class citizenship for women, and encouraging young students to engage in jihad against non-believers.

The article begins with this sentence: “It is true that Iranian officials welcome new media to share their political messages with the world, but they try to indoctrinate their messages through printed books in society and at home.”

It has also been mentioned about textbooks in China: “Chinese leaders in textbooks try to portray themselves as infinitely innocent, pure and unique in military power and global dominance, while being humble and modest in the midst of greatness and pride, to millions of students.” This article mentions examples of distortion of Chinese history – such as the invasion of Tibet in 1950, the war with Vietnam in 1979, the war with Japan, famine and the death of 30 million people from 1958 to 1961 – for their own benefit.

The main criticism of books in Saudi Arabia has been their promotion of anti-Semitism and jihad against Muslim enemies, which prompted Saudi authorities to attempt to remove and revise certain parts of the textbooks following the events of September 11. These textbooks portray Christians, communists, Zionists, and non-believers as enemies of Muslims.

This article discusses the critique of textbooks in the United States, stating: “An educational committee in Texas has presented a new curriculum and proposed the following changes to be made: …”

1) Imperialism, which is now referred to as expansionism.
2) Margaret Sanger, an activist in the field of birth control, who is mentioned as the “proponent of eugenics” in textbooks.
3) The main organizations and individuals responsible for the revival of conservative ideologies in the 1980s and 1990s, including Phyllis Schlafly’s Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority (a prominent American political organization associated with the Republican Party and Christianity), and the National Rifle Association.
4) Thomas Jefferson, the creator of the phrase “separation of church and state,” should be removed from the list of influential thinkers who inspired the revolutions of the Enlightenment era.
5) In respect for democracy, the scandal of Watergate should also be added to the lesson on “political scandals,” along with the impeachment of Bill Clinton.

The cleansing of Stalin’s face, in which 20 million Russians lost their lives during his leadership, is among the criticisms of this article from Russian books. The author claims that while 83 pages of the book are dedicated to Joseph Stalin’s industrialization plans, only one paragraph is devoted to the great famine in Russia in the years 1922-1921. Additionally, in Russian textbooks, the role of the Soviet allies in World War II is minimized and it is stated that their role was mainly limited to providing weapons and materials for the Soviet Union (5).

Notes:

1- Ayatollah Khamenei’s website.

2- What happened to the fate of Fajr satellite?, Khabar Online, 15 Farvardin 1394; also check the website of N.Y.O (nyo.com).

3- The story of two images of marginalization in textbooks/ How were the images corrected?, Fars News Agency, 10 Shahrivar 1400.

4- Analysis of the content of the first grade Persian book in three countries, the website of the future thinkers, 4 Azar 1397.

5- Markelson, Susan, the worst textbooks in the world, Farin Palace, September 8, 2010.