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By the 19th century, the Persian word Vatan began to refer to a national homeland by many intellectuals in homeland. The education system was largely controlled by Shiite clergy who utilized a Maktab system in which open political discussion of modernization was prevented. However, a number of scholarly intellectuals including Mirzā FathʿAli Ākhundzādeh, Mirzā Āqā Khān Kermāni and Mirzā Malkam Khān began to criticize Islam’s role in public life while promoting a secular identity for homeland.
