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The modern history of the intellectual resilience within the ḥawza ʿilmīya of Qum and its contribution to the downfall of the Pahlavi regime in 1979 is of particular importance. Following the death of Ayatollah Borujerdi (1875–1961), the ḥawza ʿilmīya of Qum was led by Ayatollahs Golpaygani (1899–1993), Shariʿatmadari (1906–1986), and Marʿashi Najafi (1887–1990), offering informally structured collective leadership. The intention behind this article is twofold: firstly, to critically review the impact of the ʿulamāʼs political, social, and religious contributions in this period, secondly, to assess their involvement in positioning the ḥawza institution against the Shah’s regime prior to the exile (1964–1979) of Ayatollah Khomeini (1900–1989) from Iran and afterwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reza Shah's attempt in the latter part of his autocracy (1935–1941) to implement formal education for the clergy continues to be one of the most understudied periods of Iran's modern history. The primary aim of this paper is to investigate the ḥawza's strategic response to Reza Shah's envisaged secularism and to assess the contribution made by Ayatollah Muhammad Hojjat Kuh Kamari (1892–1952), the religious authority leading the ḥawza ʿilmīyya of Qum during this crucial phase. At a time, when the political establishment actively attempted to change the cultural identity of Iran through its promotion of modernization with Western connotations, he viewed this as a new challenge that endangered the Islamic fabric of Iranian society and placed an emphasis on a socio-cultural response by Shia clerics. By drawing on a range of primary sources not consulted before, this study aims at understanding how the institutional and intellectual development of this critical transition period led to the breathing period for ḥawza ʿilmīyya of Qum and the quasi-democratic phase of Iran (1941–1953). Additionally, this paper will analyse the approach of dynamic quietism that prioritized the engagement of the 'ulamāʾ with education and society as the crucial factor in ensuring their socio-cultural influence in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intention behind this article is twofold. Firstly, it aims at reviewing the political settings that lead to the second phase (1937–1953) in the formation of the hawza leadership, often ignored by scholars. This period follows the death of the founder of the hawza ʿilmiyya of Qum, Ayatollah ʿAbd al-Karim Haʾeri in 1937, and precedes the 1953 CIA sponsored coup d'état, and includes the appointment of Ayatollah Husayn Borujerdi as the leader of the modern hawza. Secondly, the article assesses the leadership style of the triumvirate of Shiʿa jurists known as marajeʿ thalath, who managed to firmly consolidate the modern hawza of Qum despite the secularizing policies of the Pahlavis which aimed at eliminating the religious sector from the Iranian political scene. In order to understand the course of subsequent developments of the religious establishments and Shiʿi scholars in their attainment of power and influence in Iran in the course of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, it is crucial to investigate the developments during this period. This paper is the first study that draws on a range of primary sources not consulted before to research the political and social contributions of the triumvirate during the period of 1937–1953. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]