The Dangerous Plan of the Parliament Attacking the Public’s Psyche
After the entry of the clergy into schools, radio and television, and kindergartens, now it’s the turn of the parliament’s dangerous plan to attack the public’s psyche through counseling centers.
The conservative parliament has recently put forward a plan that would allow the seminary to issue counseling licenses, enabling clergy to work alongside psychologists and counselors. This plan has faced opposition from the psychology community and the Psychology Organization. It is considered a dangerous plan that encroaches upon the profession of psychology and plays with the public’s psyche.
Recently, the Psychology Organization has been raising concerns about pseudo-psychologists or ‘yellow’ Instagram psychologists and has, on several occasions, published lists of individuals who do not have licenses from this organization but are operating as psychologists and counselors, some of whom are very famous.
Although the head of the Psychology Organization has called the plan for counseling with a religious and Islamic approach an unprofessional and divisive proposal, it is expected that this body will stand more firmly against the parliament’s proposed plan. The parliament’s plan is similar to what the judiciary did years ago with the Bar Association by establishing a judiciary consultants center to stand against the Bar Association, which is an independent body responsible for defending people’s rights in legal cases. The legal profession is an independent entity from the judiciary in all countries.
For a long time, part of the power structure within the conservative movement has been seeking to increase the clergy’s share in educational, cultural, and training domains, or in other words, to take these domains out of the hands of mere specialists and hand over policy-making and execution to the clergy. In fact, conservatives in power have concluded that if the current cultural and social state of the country is far from their ideal or utopian vision, it is due to the absence of the clergy class in this field.
For this reason, they have put plans like using seminarians in schools, kindergartens, radio and television, and even recently in the fight against coronavirus on their agenda. Although these plans have been implemented sporadically, none have reached the stage of becoming a parliamentary resolution and official law.
Clergy in Radio and Television
One of the areas that has been completely taken over by the clergy in recent years, with various clergy members showcasing their colorful and sometimes strange recommendations and teachings, is radio and television. Ayatollah Moqtadaei, head of the Supreme Council of the Qom Seminary, mentioned in 2019 during the opening ceremony of the new academic year at the Qom Radio and Television Faculty that students of this faculty should consider it a branch of the seminary schools, engaged in studying and teaching specialized courses in the media field, similar to other specialized seminary centers.
Unfortunately, today in TV programs and films, there are people who have no expertise in religious and ethical matters and only produce films based on personal mentalities. The expectation from this faculty is to create a religious and spiritual transformation at the level of radio and television and to influence all domestic and foreign networks of Iran. In addition to educational and research interactions, the national media can utilize the promotion and purification departments of seminaries to advance the system’s goals in radio and television.
Clergy members who appear in radio, television, and various films and play roles are viewed by the public as representatives of the seminary, grand religious authorities, and Imam Mahdi, may God hasten his reappearance. Therefore, the seminary should oversee these films.
Students of the Radio and Television Faculty should consider this establishment as a branch of the seminary schools, engaged in studying and teaching specialized courses in the media field, similar to other specialized seminary centers.
آیت الله مقتدایی مدیر شورای عالیه حوزه علمیه قمSeminarians in Schools
The Ministry of Education has also recently been working on a plan to employ seminarians in schools. In 2019, it was officially announced that the employment exams for male and female seminarians in education have expanded from three fields to eight fields, with history, philosophy, Persian literature, and social sciences being some of the new fields introduced for seminarians.
Previously, seminarians were mainly recruited in the fields of Arabic language, Quran, and educational sciences in education. Last year, the Kayhan newspaper, during the vote of confidence for the Minister of Education, pointed out some social norm violations and behaviors inconsistent with Islamic and cultural values, questioning why some female students, after 12 years in the country’s education system, remain unfamiliar with the most basic aspects of the philosophy of hijab. The newspaper questioned why there hasn’t been enough focus on their intellectual and spiritual growth, despite the scientific and educational inputs they receive.
In this regard, one of the solutions we previously proposed is to utilize the large number of young, faithful, and ethical male and female seminarians who have been trained in seminaries and are knowledgeable about contemporary sciences and familiar with the language of the youth, to be stationed in schools as responsible for educational and training affairs, thereby becoming a source of many educational impacts and effects.
It is suggested that the topic of stationing a male or female seminarian in each school be reviewed in the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution or the parliament and, if possible, be turned into law. In December last year, 29 members of parliament proposed a plan not only to expedite and facilitate the presence of seminary soldiers in schools but also requested that all salaries and benefits of these seminarians during these two years be paid by the Ministry of Education.
Seminarians in Kindergartens
Until a few years ago, kindergartens were under the supervision of the Welfare Organization, but some began to criticize the educational and training atmosphere governing them and raised doubts about some programs containing dance and music in kindergartens. As a result, last year all kindergartens were removed from the Welfare Organization’s jurisdiction and handed over to the Ministry of Education. In this context, the discussion of seminarians entering kindergartens also arose.
The murmurs existed before; for example, in 2007, the Prayer Establishment Headquarters of Yazd, referring to the implementation of the plan for clergy presence in kindergartens, stated that clergy are present in kindergartens and provide necessary cultural education to children in very good ways. The Secretary of the Seminary and Education Cooperation Headquarters also announced in November 2020 the establishment of a preschool affiliated with the seminary, with its management and programs set by the seminary in accordance with the framework, regulations, and laws of the Ministry of Education. The Seminary Services Center of the provinces also annually holds kindergarten teacher training courses compatible with Islamic rituals.