Abā-baṣīr

Abā-baṣīr, Educational Institute and Cultural and Social Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired. (Muʾassese-ye Āmūzeshī va Markaz-e Farhangī va Madadkārī-ye Nābīnāyān va Kam-Bīnāyān).

This institute was founded in Isfahan in November 1969/Ābān 1348 by a group of teachers, clerics, and merchants with the aim of educating and fostering the intellectual and social development of individuals with visual impairments. The name Abā-baṣīr is derived from one of Imam Ja‛far al-Ṣādeq’s (d. 767/150) disciples, Yaḥyā b. Abū al-Qāsem Asadī, known by the teknonym Abā-baṣīr , who, despite his blindness, played a significant role in the propagation of Shiite beliefs. In various sources, this institute is also referred to as Abā-baṣīr  Educational Complex (Mujtama‛-e Āmūzeshī-ye Abā-baṣīr), Abā-baṣīr  Educational Organization (Sāzmān-e Āmūzeshī-ye Abā-baṣīr ), Abā-baṣīr  School (Madrasa Abā-baṣīr ), Abā-baṣīr  Training Center (Āmūzeshgāh-e Abā-baṣīr ), and Abā-baṣīr  Educational Institute (Muʾassese-ye Āmūzeshī-ye Abā-baṣīr ).¹

History.

With the establishment of several new schools that differed from the traditional maktabkhāne, a significant transformation in the education of exceptional children began in Isfahan. Around 1873/1290, Robert Bruce founded the first modern school for orphans, which later developed into a college. After being moved from Julfa to a larger site, it became known as Adab High School*. Some years later, the Armenian* Patriarchate in Julfa* also founded schools.²The Alliance* School was likewise established with the support of the Jewish community of Isfahan. In 1906/1285, Mīrzā Āqā Khān Muṣaffā Muḥāseb al-Dawla* (1875–1937/1274–1356), a graduate of Dār al-Funūn, together with Sayyed Muhammad Ali Māzandarānī, known as Mu‛īn al-Eslām, built the Orphans’ School near the Raḥīm Khān small marketplace (Bāzārche); all the supplies needed by both students and teachers were provided free of charge. The ‛Elīyye School was likewise founded by the same two figures, and in time the ‛Elīyye and Orphans’ schools were merged.³ All of these institutions, along with the Islam School, under the direction of Mīrzā Masīḥ Khan Ḥāfeẓ al-Ṣeḥḥa (1866–1903/1245–1321), admitted exceptional children to some degree.⁴ Also, in 1956/1335, Hussein Gulbīdī established the School for the Deaf in the Sartīp quarter (present-day Ṭāleqānī Street). The school began with only one student.⁵

At the time of the founding of the Abā-baṣīr  Institute, two educational centers for the blind were already active in Isfahan. Ernst Jakob Christoffel*, a Protestant pastor from Germany, arrived in Isfahan in 1928/1307 and, a year later, established a school for the blind, the deaf, and orphaned and destitute children. He introduced Braille to Iran and, with several Iranian teachers, devised a localized Persian Braille system. Christoffel also devoted great efforts to vocational training for the disabled and to improving their living conditions. Another school,⁶ Nūr-āyīn*, was founded in 1946/1325 in Isfahan with the support of the Protestant Church of England, specifically for blind girls.⁷

The founders of Abā-baṣīr  initially established the institute with the motivation of opposing the missionary activities of the church in Iran and, drawing on the Islamic cultural–educational heritage, created this institution. Up to the time of writing this entry (2025/1404), during its 55 years of existence, the activities and educational structure of the institute have undergone many ups and downs.⁸The founders’ change of orientation regarding the nature of Abā-baṣīr —from a purely educational school to a cultural–social institute—was the most significant transformation, leading to the division of its history into two distinct periods. Between 1969 and 2006/1348–1385, Abā-baṣīr functioned as a formal educational institute: it offered a primary school program, and from 1978/1357, a middle school was added. Establishing a boarding section and admitting students from across Iran, integrating high-school students, opening a girls’ section, providing vocational and technical training alongside conventional curricula, and expanding its facilities by constructing 8,000 square meters of buildings on an endowed property of about 20,000 square meters were among the major developments of this period.⁹

In 2006/1385, due to the non-renewal of Abā-baṣīr School’s educational license, its formal educational activities were discontinued, and the students were transferred to two other schools: Shahīd Sāmānī School (Takht-e Fulād* district of Isfahan, Imam Sajjād Boulevard) and Shahīd ‛Ābedī School (Ashrafī Eṣfahānī Street, Alley 21). At that time, Sāmānī and ‛Ābedī were the only schools for the blind in Isfahan. However, students who had come from distant towns and villages, owing to the closure of the boarding section, had to return to their hometowns, and some consequently dropped out of education. From 2006 to 2011/1385–1390, Abā-baṣīr was effectively inactive; beginning in 2011/1390 it resumed operations, not as a formal educational institution but as a cultural and social welfare center, similar to other non-governmental organizations. The education authorities did not make any public statement regarding the non-renewal of Abā-baṣīr’s license and its closure, but Muhammad-Hussein Baṣīrī, the director of Abā-baṣīr, along with some researchers, have suggested several possible reasons.

• Dual management. While the provision of teachers and textbooks was the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, the costs of facilities and boarding accommodation for blind students were borne by the Abā-baṣīr board of directors. The educational director was also to be appointed by mutual agreement. In 2006/1385, however, the Ministry of Education nominated Muhammad-Reza Dalīl as educational director, whereas the board insisted on appointing Hussein Maẓāherī. As the two sides failed to reach an agreement, the institute ceased its activities, blind students were transferred to the Ministry of Education, and the Abā-baṣīr buildings and other facilities were placed under the control of the board of directors.
• During this period, the policy of the formal Ministry of Education was to promote inclusive education and to reduce the number of special-education centers and boarding services.
• The management of Abā-baṣīr had come to the conclusion that the education of the blind was a governmental duty and that popular institutions should not intervene.
• After the Islamic Revolution of 1979/1357 and the elimination of Christian schools, the Abā-baṣīr leadership no longer retained their earlier anti-missionary motivation.
• Students and some teachers voiced objections to certain practices and procedures.¹⁰

Administrative Structure

In its first phase (1969–2006/1348–1385), Abā-baṣīr was administered by a board of directors rather than through elections. During this period, the educational director was appointed by agreement between the Ministry of Education and the Abā-baṣīr board. For a relatively long period, Mahdi Aqāreb-Parast was responsible for educational affairs. He was succeeded, in order, by Muhammad Sa‛īdīyān, Ali-Reza Seyfī, Sayyed Reza Mullā-bāshī, Hussein Maẓāherī, and Muhammad-Reza Dalīl. In this period, the board of directors also appointed a separate executive director of Abā-baṣīr, distinct from the educational director. The first executive director was Muhammad Baṣīrī (1923–1976/1302–1355), followed by his brother, Aḥmad Baṣīrī (1930–2006/1309–1385). Boarding education, the library, Braille printing, and vocational training each had their own separate directors. The chairman of the board, however, exercised particular influence in Abā-baṣīr. According to some directors, this position was first held by Sayyed Abū al-Hasan Āle-Rasūl, known as Shamsābādī*, and was later entrusted to Mahdī Maẓāherī*.¹¹

According to a report dated 2 July 1970/11 Tīr 1349 by Abū al-Faḍl Taqavī (1918–1980/1297–1359), head of SAVAK (Organization of Intelligence and National Security of Iran) in Isfahan, the founders of Abā-baṣīr were eleven persons: Abū al-Hasan Shamsābādī, Mahdi Aqāreb-Parast, Sayyed Hussein ‛Alavī, Aḥmad Baṣīrī, Manūchehr Manṣūrzāde, Mahdī Maẓāherī, ‛Abdul-Ali Muṣaḥḥaf, Hussein Gulbīdī, Muṣṭafā Yarāqī, Hussein Murtaḍavī, and Sayyed Ali-Akbar Parvaresh*. In a booklet published by Abā-baṣīr in November 1970/Ābān 1349, however, twelve photographs and signatures were included. Of the ten names mentioned in the SAVAK report, Parvaresh was absent, while Muhammad Baṣīrī and Sayyed Hasan Faqīh-Emāmī were present, though their names were not in the report. It is likely that during those five months certain individuals were added or removed.¹²

In its second phase (2011 to the present), Abā-baṣīr has functioned as a non-commercial institute with an elected general assembly, board of directors, and managing director. According to an official newspaper announcement published on 28 September 2024/7 Mehr 1403, the annual general assembly was held on 7 August 2024/17 Murdād 1403. The following were elected as principal members of the board: Sayyed Javād Manṣūrī Ṭehrānī, Mahdi Baṣīrī Eṣfahānī, Muhammad-Hussein Baṣīrī Eṣfahānī, Hussein Maẓāherī Ṭehrānī, Sayyed Hussein ‛Alavī-Nīyā, Rasūl Rughanīyān, and Mahdi Aqāreb-Parast; as alternate members: Sayyed ‛Abdul-Rasūl ‛Alavī and Sayyed Murtaḍā Ṣafavī for a two-year term; and as auditors: Manṣūr Sāvuj and Akbar Akhavān-Muqaddam. Since 2011/1390, Muhammad-Hussein Baṣīrī has served as the managing director of the institute.¹³ 

Location of Institute

Abā-baṣīr began its activities in the Qāʾemīyye Society building on Masjed Sayyed Street*. Later, buildings on Jāmī Street and Āzar Street (Tāj Alley) were donated to it. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979/1357, the building of the Christoffel School (the present-day Martyrs of 7th of Tīr Welfare Services Complex on Ābshār II Street) was assigned to Abā-baṣīr, but after a few months, following student protests, it was returned to the Isfahan Welfare Organization. After 1979/1358, with the closure of other schools for the blind and social changes, the number of Abā-baṣīr students multiplied, and larger educational facilities were required. Several benefactors granted Abā-baṣīr a parcel of land measuring 20,000 square meters on Imam Khomeini Street, Basīj Street. On 8,000 square meters of this land two buildings were constructed, and all Abā-baṣīr facilities—except for the girls’ section—were moved there. After the cessation of formal education, however, the board of directors purchased a house on Khayyām Street, Nahr-e Farshādī Alley 23, opposite the entrance to Seyyed al-Shuhadāʾ (Omīd) Hospital, no. 3, where in recent years all Abā-baṣīr’s activities have taken place. The former building was rented to the private Rāqeb Eṣfahānī University to provide a source of income for the Abā-baṣīr institute.¹⁴

Scope of Activities

Abā-baṣīr began its work in 1969/1348 with five students, and the following year the number of students and staff in the boarding section reached thirteen, while the day section had twenty.¹⁵ No precise statistics are available for the numbers of male and female students in different years, but it is said that the total number of students annually averaged between one hundred and three hundred. From the outset, Abā-baṣīr did not limit itself to conventional school instruction; rather, it organized personal and vocational training programs tailored to the circumstances of blind and visually impaired students. A report dated July 1970/Tīr 1349 by the head of SAVAK in Isfahan stated: “Abā-baṣīr , as an educational and training unit, is a charitable and welfare foundation, not a private profit-making institute; it was established with the permission of the Ministry of Education for the purpose of educating the blind and preparing them for independent living.”¹⁶ From the first year of instruction, students were taught skills such as carpet weaving, brush making, and mat weaving, alongside personal skills such as dressing, hygiene, and eating, so that they might live independently in the future. Although the Abā-baṣīr leadership differed with the Christoffel School in terms of religious and doctrinal foundations, it nevertheless benefited from the teaching methods and four decades of experience of that institution. Admission of students was not limited to Isfahan, and in addition to vocational and technical training, students in each educational cycle were provided with basic services, including access to library resources in the form of audio materials and Braille publications, and welfare support in employment, housing, health care, counseling, and marriage.¹⁷

After 2006/1385 and the closure of the school’s formal educational section, the activities of Abā-baṣīr diminished, but from 2011/1390 onward they resumed and have since continued in three main areas: (1) education and ethics; (2) supportive and welfare services, including medical care, subsistence, and financial assistance; and (3) foundational activities, including library services, pilgrimage and sightseeing tours, sports, software services, and information dissemination.¹⁸

Although Abā-baṣīr has rendered many services to society, its own students, teachers, and researchers have continually voiced criticisms of the institution, to which its official directors have also offered responses. Due to Abā-baṣīr’s social and financial resources, it was expected that the institute would evolve into a comprehensive, effective, and efficient national body, capable of organizing the education of Iran’s blind population—at least from the primary to the secondary level of education—on the basis of the latest international achievements in the field of education for the blind and visually impaired.¹⁹

/Muhammad Nori/

Bibliography

Aqāreb-Parast, Mahdi, “Interview with Aqāreb-Parast, Mahdi,” in Muhammad Nori, Abā-baṣīr: Muʾassasa-ye Āmuzeshī-ye Nābīnāyān, Qum: Tāvānmandān, 2018/1397.

Baṣīrī, Muhammad-Hussein, ““Interview with the Managing Director of the Abā-baṣīr  Educational Institute on Ṣabā National Radio”,” Aparat, 2021/1400. Retrieved Sept. 14, 2025, from https://www.aparat.com/v/d91064c

Īmānīyye, Mujtabā, tārīkh-e farhang-e eṣfahān: marākez-e ta‛līm az ṣadr-e eslām tā kunūn, Isfahan: University of Isfahan, 1976/1355.

König, Fritz Schmidt, Pastor Ernst J. Christoffel: pedar-e nābīnāyān-e sharq, trans. Faryā Fadāʾī, in Hūshang Maẓāherī, Eṣfahān: shahr-e chehrā-ye Jahānī, Isfahan: Ghazal, 2007/1386.

“laj-va lajbāzī-ye mudīrīyatī bā‛eth-e ta‛ṭīlī-ye bakhsh-e īmuzeshī-ye Abā-baṣīr shud,” Official Website of the Iranian Blind Association, 2020/1399.

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Maẓāherī, Hussein, “nābīnāyān-e 13 ustān az khadamāt-e muʾassese-ye Abā-baṣīr bahre mībārand,” khabarguzārī-ye Jumhūrī-ye Eslāmī (Iran), 2005/1384.

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1. “Muʾassese-ye Āmuzeshī-ye Abā-baṣīr-e Eṣfahān,” 2025/1404; Nori, 2018/1397, pp. 17–20; Idem, 2019/1398, pp. 11, 14.[↩]
2. For a brief and imprecise report on these schools, see: Īmānīyye, pp. 193–197.[↩]
3. Qāsemī Pūyā, p. 400; see also: Mīr-ʿAẓīmī, p. 397; for information on other new schools of Isfahan during the Constitutional Revolution and in the years immediately following, see: Qāsemī Pūyā, pp. 397–405, and Muʿtamadī, 2007/1386. Part of this book merely compiles and transcribes earlier reports on new schools.[↩]
4. Rūstāʾī, vol. 2, pp. 601–602.[↩]
5. Īmānīyye, pp. 240–241.[↩]
6. Nori and Shādkām, vol. 1, pp. 125–127; König, pp. 218–219, 239[↩]
7. Nori and Shādkām, vol. 1, pp. 128–129; Zangeneh, pp. 290–291.[↩]
8. Nori, 2018/1397, pp. 26–27, 30–31.[↩]
9. Qurb-ʿAlī, 2020/1399; “Laj-va Lajbāzī-ye Mudīrīyyatī …,” 2020/1399; Maẓāherī, 2005/1384; Nūrī, 2018/1397, pp. 30–32, 577–578.[↩]
10. Baṣīrī, 2021/1400; Qurb-ʿAlī, 2020/1399; “Laj-va Lajbāzī-ye Mudīrīyatī …,” 2020/1399; Nūrī, 2018/1397, pp. 577–578.[↩]
11. Nori, 2018/1397, pp. 33–37.[↩]
12. Taqavī, 1970/1349; Nūrī, 2018/1397, pp. 18–20, 119–120, 553–576.[↩]
13. Nori, 2018/1397, pp. 33–34, 357.[↩]
14. Taqavī, 1970/1349; Qurb-ʿAlī, 2020/1399; Nori, 2018/1397, pp. 44, 489–491.[↩]
15. Taqavī, 1970/1349; “Muʾassese-ye Āmuzeshī-ye Abā-baṣīr -e Eṣfahān,” 2025/1404.[↩]
16. Taqavī, 1970/1349.[↩]
17. Baṣīrī, 2021/1400; Qurb-ʿAlī, 2020/1399; Maẓāherī, 2005/1384; Nori, 2018/1397, pp. 40–41, 141.[↩]
18. Muʾassese-ye Āmuzeshī-ye Abā-baṣīr , 2025/1404b; Idem, 2025/1404a.[↩]
19. For criticisms of Abā-baṣīr  and the responses of its officials, see: Nūrī, 2018/1397, pp. 146–147, 169, 507–519, 577, 578. For the development of Abā-baṣīr  and the obstacles it faced, see: Aqāreb-Parast, pp. 292–293.[↩]