Ethics-Centered Social Education in the Pre-Revolutionary Era Sirah of Imam Khomeini (1959-1979)

The main problem of the present research is how Imam Khomeini, during the period of political restriction before the Islamic Revolution (1963–1979), sustained ethics-centered social education without falling into passivity or violence. This question is important because this period is a sensitive context for testing educational strategies under conditions of restriction, and Imam Khomeini's Sirah is considered a rich source for extracting an indigenous and efficient model. The present study, using an analytical-descriptive method, through qualitative content analysis of historical documents (speeches, letters, and memoirs) and using the inductive thematic analysis method, has extracted Imam Khomeini's educational model. The extracted model has three levels: the level of principles (Fitrah-oriented awakening, moral responsibility, enlightenment as a moral duty); the level of strategies (decentralized communication networking, selective language and criticism within a religious framework, practical role-modeling based on simple living and moral courage); and the level of consequences (continuation of the educational discourse under conditions of restriction, strengthening of social capital, and nurturing conscious and responsible forces). The relationship among the levels is interactive and multi-layered: principles form the basis of strategies, and strategies, through their consequences, make the reproduction of principles possible under conditions of restriction. This model can provide a theoretical and practical framework for actors in the field of education in similar situations.