Hosseiniyeh Ershad

Prominent cultural and religious institution in Tehran – founded in the 1960s as a modern space for social and religious debate.

The Hosseiniyeh Ershad is a prominent cultural and religious institution on Shariati Avenue in Tehran, founded in the early 1960s. It was established as a modern, non-traditionalist space for lectures and discussions on history, society, culture and religion – deliberately targeting an educated audience beyond the traditional mosque congregation. The institution played a significant role in Iran's intellectual debates before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and has since come to symbolise the reformist religious discourse of the 20th century.