Iran's Educational Diplomacy in the Muslim World: Activities of Al-Mustafa International University in Malaysia and Afghanistan.

• Author: Banikamal, Abdolmoghset
• Position: ARTICLE

Introduction

The Islamic Republic of Iran, in the name of exporting the 1979 Revolution, aims to propagate Shia core doctrinal values. The founding fathers of the 1979 Revolution believed that for the country to attain its objective, it needed to occupy a space in the educational sector of the Muslim world. Hence, the Islamic Republic outlined the strategy of educational diplomacy that is sponsoring a host of educational initiatives, such as the establishment of Jami[??]ah al-Mustafa al-[??]alamiyyah or al-Mustafa International University (MIU) with branches across the Muslim world promoting its activities. This paper discusses the role of the MIU in the conduct of the Islamic Republic's educational diplomacy in Malaysia and Afghanistan in line with Iran's aim of promoting Shia core doctrinal values of 'succession' (imamate), and its corollaries of 'waiting' (intizar), 'representation' (vildyat), 'rule of jurisconsult' (vilayat e faqih), and 'dissimulation' (taqiyyah); as well as this country's quest for soft power and greater influence in the politics of the Muslim world. This paper is composed of two parts. First, it discusses the theoretical basis of public diplomacy and the role of the MIU in the Islamic Republic of Iran's policy of promoting the Shia core doctrinal values in the Muslim world. Second, it examines the strategies and activities of the MIU for creating Shia propagandists and sympathizers in Malaysia and Afghanistan. A word of caution is in order. Throughout this paper, the terms 'Irano-Islamic' or 'Islamic' in the country's official documents and Iranian literature refers to the Shia version of Islam and the declared official ideology of the Islamic Republic of Iran. These official documents and literature are based on the view that Shia core doctrinal values and political norms constitute 'true' and 'pure' teachings of Islam.

Educational Diplomacy: Theoretical Consideration

The changing international environment and the advancement of information and communication technology have facilitated the entrance of ordinary citizens into the heart of the political arena. This has put classical foreign policy under extensive pressure to go beyond its traditional state-to-state interaction. (1) States have begun to use 'public diplomacy' as an important and effective element of diplomatic practices. In McDowell's words public diplomacy is the "actions of a government to inform and influence foreign publics." (2) In McDowell's view public diplomacy includes state and non-state "activities that inevitably if not purposefully have an impact on the foreign policy, national security and national interests" (3) of other states. Paul Sharp joins McDowell and argues that public diplomacy is the "process by which direct relations with people in a country are pursued to advance the interest and extend the values of those being represented." (4) McDowell and Sharp's arguments suggest that states employ public diplomacy beyond government to government contacts, and attempt to directly interact with the people of other states.

Joseph Nye in his popular analysis of power divides national power into two types: (1) 'hard power' and (2) 'soft power.' He views hard power in terms of material factors such as military, population, economic resources, etc. However, he associates soft power with intangible factors such as culture, ideas, skills, and attraction. Nye asserts that the "proof of power lies not in resources but in the ability to change the behavior of states." (5) Therefore, he argues, in soft power, the nature of power is co-optive rather than coercive. It may not be misplaced to argue that Nye's analysis of soft power resembles Carr's view of power as "power over opinion" (6) or what Morgenthau referred as control over the minds of others. According to Morgenthau, 'power' may comprise anything from "physical violence to most subtle psychological ties" through which a man establishes control over other men. (7) Nye argues that 'soft power' as an instrument of foreign policy is a strategic choice and an alternative to the "costly exercise of hard power." (8) States use 'public diplomacy' as an important instrument in the quest of attaining national interests and therefore, he concludes that public diplomacy in pursuit of national interest is an important element of power in a nation's foreign policy formulation.

According to R. S. Zaharna, states in the exercise of public diplomacy follow a two-fold approach: (1) informational approach and (2) relational approach. The informational approach focuses on the ways public diplomacy messages are designed and transmitted to the public of the target state. The informational approach perceives communication as "a linear process of transferring information, often with the goal of persuasion or control" (9) in the target state. The relational approach, on the other hand, focuses on "relationship building and construction of social structure(s)" (10) with the public in target states. The aim is to "find commonalities or mutual interests between publics (in the target state) and then ways to link those publics (in the target state) via some form of direct interpersonal communication" (11) with the agents or representative of the message-sending state. The relationship-building technique of the relational approach focuses on building long-term relations, through seeking mutual interests between the message-sending state and the target audience in the target state. (12) In Zaharna's view the relational initiatives of the relationship-building technique include building relations and establishing contacts with students, teachers, academics, and intellectuals. Such initiatives broadly called educational diplomacy initiatives may range from exchange of students and academics, signing memoranda of understanding with other educational institutions to conducting seminars, workshops and symposiums. (13)

Nye argues that educational initiatives in a public diplomacy toolkit are a very important element of 'soft power' employed by states in pursuit of their interests in the target state. Nye argues that Colin Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State, informed his audience that "I can think of no more valuable assets to our country than friendship of future world leaders who have been educated here." (14) Moreover, Nye contends that the Soviet Union Politburo member Alexander Yakovlev's stay at Columbia University in the 1950s helped him champion socio-political and economic reforms in the Soviet Union under Michael Gorbachev's leadership. Therefore, Nye writes, "exchanges affect elites; one or two key contacts may have major political effects." (15)

Indeed education has also been used by colonial powers arguably to safeguard their long-term interests in the colonies. In the most cited 'Minute on Education,' the famous 18th century British educationist, Lord Macaulay (1800-1859), in favor of introducing English Language to the Indian sub-continent, argued that "we must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and millions whom we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and color, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals and in intellect." (16) What Macaulay advised in 1835, albeit the difference in styles and methods is being practiced with the same vigor by states in contemporary times. States with global and regional ambitions strive to enhance their influence through educational diplomacy. President Harry S. Truman in August 1946 signed the famous Fulbright Educational Exchange Program Bill under which, up until 2013, the U.S. government facilitated 202,600 students from 155 countries to pursue higher education at American universities. (17) The British Chevening Scholarships Program initiated in 1984, and the European Union Erasmus Mundus Program initiated in 2009 are other examples of the exercise of educational diplomacy.

Educational Diplomacy in the Islamic Republic of Iran's Foreign Policy

The so-called 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran has indeed been an opportunity for Ayatollah Khomeini and the Shia religious establishment to promote Shia core doctrinal values in the Muslim world under the name of Islam. While many in the Sunni majority Muslim states supported the ideals of the so-called Iranian Islamic Revolution, the religious establishment in the Islamic Republic under the leadership of Khomeini was silently contemplating a strategy to export the revolution and effectively instill Shia core doctrinal values in young minds and within the academic community in the largely Sunni majority Muslim states. The Islamic Republic's religious sectarian establishment's strategy of exporting revolution focused on two fundamental issues. First, it focused on the use of educational diplomacy, that is the formulation of a host of educational initiatives and establishment of institutional apparatus i.e. al-Mustafa International University with branches across the Muslim world necessary for exporting the Shia core doctrinal values. Second, perhaps more important for Khomeini and the Iranian religious establishment, the strategy focused on the reform of the secular system of education in line with the Shia core doctrinal values. Development of a Shia oriented educational system was more important as it was what should be exported through the use of educational diplomacy and the MIU.

Khomeini in 1979 issued a decree to establish the Islamic Republics Cultural Revolution Headquarters (Sitad e Inqilab e Farhangi; CRH). However, Khomeini in 1984 through another decree institutionalized CRH into the Supreme Cultural Revolutionary Council (Shuray e [??]ali e Inqilab e Farhangi; SCRC). (18) The SCRC has a gargantuan apparatus with 17 units, including councils and boards. It has been assigned to redesign the country's education system to match its Shia political and ideological goals and objectives envisioned by Khomeini and his successor...