دانشگاه شهید بهشتی مجله تاریخ ایران 2008-7357 19 1 2026 03 21 Constructing a New Iranian Identity in the Arab Society of Khuzestan during the First Pahlavi Period with an Emphasis on the Role of Schools ساخت هویت نوین ایرانی در جامعۀ عرب خوزستان دورۀ پهلوی اول با تأکید بر نقش مدارس 105 132 106617 10.48308/irhj.2026.242569.1474 FA محمد البوعلی دکتری تاریخ ایران بعد اسلام از دانشگاه شهید بهشتی، تهران، ایران. Journal Article 2025 11 20 The policy of school-building was pursued throughout the reign of Reza Shah as one of the main pillars in constructing a new Iranian national identity. With the aim of centralizing power and strengthening national cohesion, the Pahlavi state implemented new educational policies across the country, and the Arab community of Khuzestan was no exception. This article examines the school-building policy and the expansion of modern education among the Arabs of Khuzestan during 1925–1941. The main research questions concern the significance of the school-building movement in Arab-inhabited regions, the extent to which its objectives were fulfilled, and the geographical scope of its quantitative growth. Based on the historical method and drawing on archival documents and periodicals from the Reza Shah era, the findings indicate that the establishment of state schools in Arab regions served not only as a means of promoting literacy and education but also as an instrument for the penetration and dissemination of elements of the new official national identity, national values, and, simultaneously, the weakening of local identity. The research further shows that, alongside the financial resources of the Ministry of Education, institutions such as the Oil Company and military forces in Khuzestan played an influential role in advancing this policy. Available statistics demonstrate that the state devoted greater attention to the school-building movement in the Arab community of Khuzestan than in other parts of the country, as this policy was perceived as a tool for consolidating the state’s identity discourse and tightening regional control.<br /><strong>Introduction</strong><strong> </strong><br />In modern states, education is widely regarded as one of the most effective instruments for shaping social consciousness and disseminating national identity. Modern schooling, through carefully designed curricula and institutional discipline, enables governments to transmit official discourses and legitimize new political and cultural orders. Military power alone is insufficient to sustain modern authoritarian states; rather, minimum legitimacy must be achieved by embedding the dominant ideology within the minds of social actors. Consequently, modern education systems and schools became the most powerful tools through which centralized governments sought to produce obedient, loyal, and culturally homogeneous citizens. Theoretical perspectives on state power emphasize this role of education. Antonio Gramsci famously described education and mass communication as the “two blades of scissors” wielded by the ruling class to secure cultural hegemony. Similarly, Louis Althusser identified educational institutions as key ideological state apparatuses that reproduce dominant values and norms across generations. No other institution occupies such a significant portion of an individual’s life as the school, where students spend years internalizing official narratives, symbols, and identities.<br /> Arab Khuzestan presented a unique challenge to the centralizing ambitions of the early Pahlavi state. The region was organized around tribal structures, with lineage and the Arabic language forming the foundation of its social order. Powerful tribal leaders, most notably Sheikh Khaz‘al, and strong local identities limited the influence of the central government. As a result, Khuzestan acquired heightened strategic importance for state planners, who increasingly viewed education as a means of transforming the region’s social and cultural fabric. From the late Qajar period onward, intellectuals and policymakers emphasized the necessity of reshaping local identities through education. This article examines the expansion of modern schooling in Arab Khuzestan during the first Pahlavi period and addresses the following question: What role did modern schools play in promoting the official Iranian national identity among the Arab population of Khuzestan? By employing a historical method and relying on archival documents and contemporary sources, this study aims to contribute to the historiography of education, identity, and state formation in modern Iran.<br /> <br /><strong>Materials And Methods   </strong><br />Given the historical nature of the subject, this research adopts a descriptive-analytical methodology. This approach involves first describing the development of modern education in Arab Khuzestan and then analyzing its political, cultural, and ideological implications within the broader framework of Pahlavi nation-building policies. The study is based primarily on library research and archival documentation, allowing for a systematic reconstruction of educational policies and practices during the first Pahlavi period.<br />The main sources used in this research include official government documents preserved in the National Archives of Iran, reports of the Ministry of Education, administrative correspondence, statistical records, national newspapers, and cultural journals published between 1925 and 1941. These sources provide quantitative data on the number of schools, students, and budgets, as well as qualitative insights into the ideological objectives of educational reforms. In addition, memoirs and contemporary travel accounts have been consulted to contextualize official narratives and assess local responses to educational expansion.To enhance analytical precision, the collected data were categorized thematically into sections addressing traditional education, early modern schools, language policy, institutional support, and regional implementation. Comparative analysis was also employed to assess Khuzestan’s educational development relative to other Iranian provinces. This comparison helps demonstrate the exceptional level of state investment in schooling within Arab-inhabited areas.<br />Throughout the research process, the principle of source reliability was strictly observed. Official documents were cross-referenced with independent contemporary accounts to minimize bias and ensure accuracy. By integrating qualitative discourse analysis with quantitative data, the study seeks to provide a balanced and nuanced interpretation of how modern education functioned as a tool of identity construction and political integration in Arab Khuzestan during the first Pahlavi era.<br /> <br /><strong>Result and Discussion </strong><br />The findings of this study reveal that modern education in Arab Khuzestan during the first Pahlavi period was deeply intertwined with the state’s nation-building agenda. Prior to the establishment of Pahlavi rule, education in the region was dominated by traditional maktabs, where instruction was largely conducted in Arabic and focused on religious and classical subjects. Although modern schools began to emerge in Khuzestan before 1925, they operated within a relatively pluralistic linguistic and cultural framework. Following the consolidation of Pahlavi authority and the removal of Sheikh Khaz‘al, the state initiated an intensive school-building campaign in Arab-inhabited areas. These new schools were designed according to centralized regulations, with Persian designated as the sole language of instruction. Education thus became a primary mechanism through which the state sought to weaken tribal structures, marginalize Arabic, and inculcate a unified national identity based on Persian language, ancient Iranian history, and loyalty to the monarchy.<br />Institutionally, the expansion of education in Khuzestan was supported not only by the Ministry of Education but also by the military and the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Archival evidence demonstrates that oil revenues and corporate assistance played a crucial role in financing school construction, teachers’ salaries, and educational facilities, particularly in cities such as Ahvaz, Abadan, and Khorramshahr. As a result, the pace of school construction in Khuzestan surpassed that of many other Iranian provinces. Statistical data further indicate a significant increase in student enrollment, including the establishment of girls’ schools for the first time in several Arab cities. While these developments contributed to rising literacy rates and greater access to education, they also facilitated the penetration of state ideology into everyday life. School curricula emphasized Persian language proficiency, national symbols, and historical narratives aligned with the official discourse of Iranian nationalism.<br />Local responses to these policies were not uniform. Some segments of the Arab elite embraced modern education as a means of social mobility and integration into state institutions. Others, however, perceived schooling as an instrument of cultural assimilation and identity erosion. Despite these tensions, the gradual institutionalization of modern education succeeded in embedding elements of the official national identity within younger generations. Overall, the results confirm that schooling in Arab Khuzestan functioned as a dual-purpose institution: it promoted modernization and literacy while simultaneously serving as a strategic tool for cultural homogenization and political control.<br /> <br /><strong>Conclusions  </strong><br />This study demonstrates that the expansion of modern education in Arab Khuzestan during the first Pahlavi period was an integral component of the state’s broader nation-building strategy. School construction and educational reform were not merely aimed at cultural development but were deeply embedded in efforts to consolidate central authority, promote linguistic unity, and reshape local identities in peripheral regions. The findings show that modern schools played a decisive role in disseminating the official Iranian national identity through the promotion of the Persian language and state-sanctioned historical narratives, often at the expense of Arabic language and local cultural practices. The involvement of institutions such as the military and the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company highlights the strategic importance attributed to education in Khuzestan. While modern education contributed to increased literacy and social transformation, its top-down and homogenizing approach also generated cultural tensions and a sense of marginalization among parts of the Arab population. The experience of Arab Khuzestan thus illustrates the complex relationship between education, identity, and power in modern Iran and underscores the central role of schooling in the Pahlavi state’s project of constructing a unified national identity.<br />  سیاست مدرسه‌سازی به‌عنوان یکی از ارکان اصلی برساختن هویت جدید ایرانی در سراسر دوره پهلوی اول دنبال شد. دولت رضاشاه با هدف تمرکز قدرت و تقویت انسجام ملی، سیاست‌های آموزشی نوینی را در سراسر کشور به اجرا گذاشت که جامعه عرب خوزستان نیز از آن مستثنا نبود. این مقاله به بررسی سیاست مدرسه‌سازی و گسترش آموزش نوین در جامعه عرب خوزستان طی سال‌های ۱۳۰۴ تا ۱۳۲۰ش می‌پردازد. پرسش اصلی پژوهش آن است که نهضت مدرسه‌سازی در میان عرب‌های خوزستان چه نقشی در پذیرش هویت جدید ایرانی داشت؟  تحقیق حاضر با روش تاریخی و بر پایه اسناد و نشریات دوره رضاشاه انجام شده است. یافته‌ها نشان می‌دهد که تأسیس مدارس دولتی در مناطق عرب‌نشین نه‌تنها ابزاری برای گسترش سواد و آموزش بود، بلکه وسیله‌ای برای نفوذ و ترویج عناصر هویت رسمی نوین، ارزش‌های ملی و در عین حال تضعیف هویت محلی به شمار می‌آمد. همچنین روشن شد که در کنار منابع مالی وزارت معارف، نهادهایی چون شرکت نفت و نیروهای ارتش در خوزستان نقش مؤثری در پیشبرد این سیاست داشتند. بر اساس آمار موجود، توجه دولت به نهضت مدرسه‌سازی در جامعه عرب خوزستان بیش از دیگر مناطق کشور بوده است، چراکه این سیاست ابزاری برای تحکیم گفتار هویتی دولت و کنترل منطقه‌ای تلقی می‌شد. https://irhj.sbu.ac.ir/article_106617_3c0455cf3ed59ca6cfea1ce26309d576.pdf