Somel-Final Version Muslim Private Educational Initiatives After 1856

8/14/2019 Somel-Final Version Muslim Private Educational Initiatives After 1856

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Autonomous Dynamics of Cultural Modernization at the Provincial Level: Muslim

Private Educational Initiatives in the Ottoman Provinces (1856-1908)*

by

Seluk Akin Somel

(Sabanci University)

The Reform Edict of 1856 represents a crucial moment in terms of the official

acknowledgment of the principle of educational freedom for all religious communities. From

that time onwards it could be observed at the provincial level the rapid expansion of local as

well as foreign non-Muslim schools. The same phenomenon was true for private Muslim

initiatives from the 1860s onwards. The Regulation of Public Education (1869) aimed at

integrating government, community, private and foreign schools within one legal framework,

which was enforced to a certain extent only during the rule of Abdlhamid II. The foundation

of non-Muslim and Muslim private schools and networks constituted a challenge to the

Ottoman administration which, following the Russo-Ottoman war of 1877-78 in particular,

abandoned the previous Ottomanist policy of relative cultural liberalism in favour of

Islamism. The growing pressure from the center, however, only helped to strengthen cultural

nationalisms in the provinces. This paper aims to discuss the development of private Muslim

educational ventures in the Balkans, Anatolia and Arab-speaking provinces of the empire.

Since the Islamic private school initiative in Istanbul, which emerged in 1865 and led to the

foundation of theDr -Safaka-school, had a considerable impact upon the development of

other private schools in the capital as well as in Anatolian towns, this article will first discuss

the appearance of the private school initiatives in Istanbul, followed by provincial towns andregions.

Introduction

*

I would like to express my thanks to the Library of the Islamic Research Centre of the Divinity Endowment ofTurkey (TDV slam Aratrmalar Merkezi Ktphanesi) as well as Boazii University Library for using itsfacilities during the preparation of this article.


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The term private school as opposed to government schools poses some difficulties in terms

of definition. Until the military reforms of the eighteenth century there were no state schools

in the strict sense, with the excepion of the palace school at the Topkap Palace. The primary-

level mosque schools and the madrasas constituted an educational network autonomous of

government authority, which were supported by pious foundations.1 The military and naval

engineering schools, founded first in 1734 and again in 1773 (or 1775), are probably the first

examples of government schools.2 The reforms in the bureaucracy in the first half of the

nineteenth century led to the foundation of government schools of civil character (rdiyye-

schools). We are able to talk about a full-fledged government school system only in the

second half of the nineteenth century.3

While a government school system did develop, there already existed extensive non-

Muslim school networks throughout the Ottoman Empire. These included native non-Muslim

educational networks, maintained by the Greek, Armenian and Jewish communities, as well

as foreign school networks belonging to various Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox orders or

Jewish philanthropic organizations. Considering that the Greek and the Armenian

Patriarchates were official institutions, one could logically argue that the non-Muslim schools,

operated by these patriarchates, were public schools. Also, the financial basis of these schools

were mainly church foundations, and depended less on student fees. This example shows us

one difficulty in differentiating in terms of private and public schools.4

Another difficulty stems from the object of establishing schools. An important part of the

foreign school networks were not established for the sake of profit, but for the sake of

dissiminating their religious beliefs among the population. From the viewpoint of the

missionaries their networks were serving the public. In that sense these networks could not be

simply dismissed as private schools.

Looking at the official definition delineated by the Regulation of Public Education all

schools not founded by the Ministry of Public Education were simply labeled as privateschools or special schools (mektib-i hussiye), as opposed to state schools or public

schools (mektib-i ummiye).5 For the sake of convenience, this paper will remain faithful to

the official definition of the Regulation and will consider all schools as private which are

not founded by the Ministry of Public Education. In this paper only those Muslim private

schools will be taken into consideration which did not display a traditional character, i.e. not

founded as a madrasa or through the support of pious foundations, but by individuals or by

associations aiming at the dissemination of worldly, practical and empirically-basedknowledge among the pupils and students in addition to Islamic knowledge.


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The Reform Edict of 1856 and its Impact on Education

The emergence of civil Muslim initiatives to invest for private Muslim schools cannot be fully

understood without discussing the political and cultural impact of the Reform Edict of 28

February 1856. The Crimean War (1853-1856) which broke out initially between the Ottoman

Empire and Russia, led to the intensification of diplomatic, political, military as well as

cultural contacts between the Ottomans and her Western allies such as France and Great

Britain.6 These contacts did intensify to an unprecedented level; between 1854 and 1856 tens

of thousands of British and French soldiers and their families encamped around Istanbul, and

this city, hitherto touched only at certain degrees by European cultural influences, now was

virtually shaken by this massive wave of European socio-cultural presence.7 The Ottoman

State found itself diplomatically and politically deeply obliged to the liberal powers who

provided full political and military support to the Sublime Porte. On the other hand, the

decisive defeat of the arch enemy thanks to the alliance with European powers provided

considerable domestic legitimation to the reformist political cadre, led by Mehmed Emin l

Pasha and Keecizde Fuad Pasha. The reform measures, applied during the period of 1856-

1871 by this second generation of Tanzimat reformers in the political, judicial and cultural

fields, would bear unmistakable signs of Westernism.8

It was under these circumstances that the Sublime Porte bowed to the diplomatic pressures

of France, Britain and Austria for reform steps, and Sultan Abdlmecid issued the Reform

Edict of 1856 (28 February 1856).9 Though this document consisted of stipulations related to

the basic rights of the non-Muslim people of the empire, these in fact concerned very closely

the Muslim population, and would have a deep impact on the political as well as social

constitution of the Ottoman Empire. For the purposes of this paper it is necessary to have a

look at some passages of the edict text. In the introductory paragraph of the Sultanicdocument the following statement can be read (emphases are mine):

all the subjects from different communities, constituting the domestic base for thestrengthening of our Sublime Sultanate, and connected to each other through the heartilybond of citizenship, are equalin my righteous and compassionate consideration. It is arequisite of my imperial and merciful will to support the means and conditions which will

provide the fulfillment and attainment of happiness among my subjects in every aspect as wellas the prosperity of our Imperial Lands10


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This statement signified the termination of the ancient differentiations and legal inequalities

between Muslims and non-Muslims, at least at the level of official discourse. This position

was a novelty which clearly constituted a violation of the Islamic Law.11 The expression

heartily bond of citizenship (revbt- kalbiyye-i vatanda) seems to be noteworthy, since it

apparently denoted not only the notion of a citizenship based on loyalty to the same monarch

and state, but in addition to the necessity of an emotional bond among citizens from different

religious communities. In other words, it points to the importance of a common spirit or of a

feeling of solidarity among the different subjects of the empire, which the administration

considered as crucial to create. The policy of Ottomanism, which aimed to found an Ottoman

nation, should be understood within this context. Within this new political paradigma,

education could not remain anymore defined through narrow communal limits.

Another passage from the edict which concerns this article, is as follows (emphasis is

mine):

and those who are my imperial subjects will be admitted to the military and civil schoolsof my Sublime State without any discrimination and separation provided that they fulfil the

preconditions of age and examinations determined by the promulgated regulations of myimperial schools12

In other words, non-Muslim subjects acquired the right to enter government civil andmilitary schools designed to raise civil servants and military officers. The Ottoman state

apparatus, until then considered to be an indisputable realm of Muslims, from now on would

be opened to those non-Muslims who possessed the necessary qualifications to enter the

bureaucracy and the army. This stipulation would have a profound impact upon the whole

political arrangement which did continue without significant changes for centuries. The

Greek, Armenian and Jewish comunities, according to the Ottoman interpretation of the

Islamic Law, used to be treated as the protected people (ehli zimmet), however with ratherlimited possibilities to enter the state elite which consisted predominantly of Muslims.13

Despite the fact that there emerged, from the late eighteenth century onwards, a wealthy

Greek and Armenian merchant class with considerable financial power and close cultural ties

to Europe, they still were considered to be second class subjects, at best.14

Therefore, when the Edict of 1856 was publicly declared, educated Muslims in general

considered it as a major concession which would have rather unfavourable consequences for

the Muslims. The line of thought was that since Greeks and Armenians had the advantage of

better education and of control over major financial resources, the equality between Muslims


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and non-Muslims would work to the disadvantage of the Muslims in general. The feeling was

that the Ottoman state would be gradually abandoned to the Christians.15

A final passage from the Edict of 1856, concentrating educational freedom is as follows:

every religious community has the permission to found community schools for education,trade and industry. However, the methods of instruction as well as the selection of theinstructors of these public schools will be under the direction and supervision of a mixedEducational Council, and its members will be appointed through my Imperial capacity16

Prior to this edict non-Muslims did not possess the liberty to found schools unless

acquiring a special Sultanic decree. 17 Therefore the abovementioned edict passage provided

an unprecented freedom for non-Muslims to set up and expand their own schools. In addition,

since Catholics and Protestants, in 1831 and 1850 respectively, were officially recognized aslegal religious communities, Catholic and Protestant missionary organizations were now also

able to benefit from the freedom provided by the edict.

To sum up, the Reform Edict of 1856 destroyed the ages-long community differentiation

between Muslims and non-Muslims by providing legal equality in entering civil service and

army as well as providing freedom for all officially recognized commuities to found their own

schools. Many Ottoman Muslims, however, perceived this development as a termination of

their privilege as being natural members of the ruling class, and at once felt themselvesvulnerable vis--vis cultural development and economic resources of non-Muslims, with

which they felt unable to compete.

In fact, following the Edict of 1856 there has been a virtual explosion of educational

initiatives among Greeks and Armenians. Again, the Edict of 1856 required non-Muslim

communities, hitherto governed by church oligarchies, to undertake community reforms

which would enable secular members of communities to participate in the community

administrations. As a consequence, Greek, Armenian as well as Jewish communities producedtheir so-called constitutions between 1859 and 1865, and community assemblies consisting

both of clergymen and laymen were inaugurated. In sequence with these administrative

transformations, Greek and Armenian, and later Bulgarian laymen gained the opportunity to

initiate the foundation of a series of local cultural associations in different towns of Anatolia

and the Balkans. Previously, any private initiative of secular non-Muslims to found schools

had been obstructed by the clergy.18


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Reaction to Ottomanism: Emergence of Private Muslim Educational Initiatives

The emergence of the first Muslim private educational initiatives should be considered as a

reaction to the effects of the Reform Edict of 1856 and possibly to the limited efficiency of

the state to expand modern schools.

Soon after the declaration of the edict Sublime Port took measures to transform its

educational policy in harmony with the policy of Ottomanism. In 1857 the Ministry of Public

Education was founded. Between 1857 and 1869 educational networks were designed which

would admit non-Muslim students and promote mixed education. As a result of these

endeavours the Regulation of Public Education of 1869 emerged, which stipulated the

foundation of government primary schools both for Muslims and for non-Muslims.19 It is a

fact that the late Tanzimat-regime of l and Fuad Pashas strove for developing a public

educational system, open to all members of various religious communities. However, the

main problem remained to be its inability to revolve the character of the state schools from

being institutions to raise government officials into truly civilian institutions which would

serve the economic and social aspirations of civilian population, Muslim and non-Muslim

alike.20

The growing worry of educated Muslim Turks concerning the increasing economic and

educational influence of non-Muslims, combined with the slowness of the government school

system to adapt itself to the challenges created by the Edict of 1856, resulted in the foundation

of civil Muslim Turkish iniatives to promote modern education among the Muslim population

of Istanbul and Salonica.

At this point it is possible to observe the emergence of two major traditions of modern

private Muslim school foundations in the Turkish-speaking parts of the empire. One tradition

originated in Salonica, and the other emerged in the capital. Both traditions put a stress on the

importance of the teaching of Islamic precepts, while underlining the need to offer modernand practical subjects such as French and courses related to commerce. On the other hand,

looking at the social origins of these traditions, the Salonica-tradition emerged among the the

community of theDnmes orMaaminim, i.e. former supporters of the seventeenth century

Jewish messianic movement led by rabbi Shabtai Tzvi who later was forced to convert to

Islam, but whose converted Muslim followers did not mix with ordinary Muslims and

unofficially remained a separate community.21 TheseDnmes constituted a wealthy and well-

educated urban Muslim middle class who had close commercial contacts with Europe, withFrance and Belgium in particular, and thus were open to new ideas and developments.22


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The Istanbul-tradition, on the other hand, emerged as a part of efforts of certain Muslim

Turkish civil servants to set up modern schools to educate Muslim orphans or Muslim boys of

modest origins. This tradition, initiated by the Islamic Association of Instruction (Cemiyyet-

i Tedrsiyye-i slmiyye) and exemplified by theDr -afaka (Abode of Compassion)

orphanage, signified a Muslim reaction against the equal rights given to non-Muslims and a

worry that non-Muslims with their substantial financial resources and educational strength

could overwhelm the Muslims.

The foundation of theDr -afaka triggered the foundation of other private schools not

only in Istanbul, but also in some Turkish-speaking provinces of Anatolia. Therefore, it is

necessary to deal in short with the development with Muslim private schools of Istanbul.

Private Muslim Schools of Istanbul

In 1865 a group of public-minded Muslim bureaucrats and military officers founded the

Islamic Association of Instruction (Cemiyyet-i Tedrsiyye-i slmiyye, hereafter IAI). The

initiators of this association were Yusuf Ziya Bey (later pasha and Minister of Finances,

[1828-1882]), Ahmed Muhtar Bey (later pasha, gazi and military commander at the

Russo-Ottoman War of 1877-78, [1839-1919], Vidinli Tevfik Bey (later pasha [1832-

1901]) and Ali Nak Efendi (later director of education of Trabzon province [1836-1923]). As

will be seen below, Ali Nak also devoted himself for the educational development in

Trabzon. The original aim of the IAI was to provide basic modern education to the

apprentices of the Grand Bazaar. Two schools were set up close to the bazaar where courses

such as reading and writing, basic mathematics and geometry, geography, and the instruction

of rudimentary religious, moral and social values were offered. It was expected that the

graduates would become able to write commercial letters as well as dealing with receipts and

deeds. All textbooks, notebooks and pens were provided by the IAI for free.23 In 1865-1866around 1630 apprentices were registered at these schools, and 723 of them did graduate. In

1866-1867 nearly 700 apprentices received instruction.24 These figures reveal the major

demand for basic education among the modest strata of Istanbul.

Looking at the regulation of the IAI (Cemiyyet-i Tedrsiyye-i slmiyyenin Vezifini

Mr izmnmedir), the text reveals us the rather elite-character of its membership.

Members had to pay an annual fee of four Ottoman Pounds.25 Also, the regulation underlines

that the association is a body of solidarity based on the principles of the love for thefatherland and zeal for the religious community (cemiyyet-i mezkre muhabbet-i vataniyye


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ve gayret-i milliye essna mbten bir heyet-i muvene olmasna nazarn).26 This

expression exposes us the meaning of the IAI-venture, i.e. the aim to support educational

development among the Muslim community in the face of the new conditions of socio-

political competition with non-Muslim communities following the Reform Edict of 1856.

Encouraged by the increasing demand for schools, the IAI founded in 1873, with the

financial support from Sultan Abdlaziz, the Khedive smail Pasha of Egypt as well as

numerous wealthy Ottoman citizens, theDr -afaka (Abode of Compassion) to provide

high school education for Muslim orphans. Though it was originally planned that female

orphans would also be admitted to this school, in effect it became restricted to male orphans.27

TheDr--afaka proved to be a success story both in terms of institutional continuity

and educational quality. As a high school it became a model school comparable to the

francophone government high school Mekteb-i Sultan. The instruction and curriculum at the

Dr--afaka was modelled after the French military high schoolLa Flche, though the

language of instruction was Ottoman Turkish.28

The success of theDr -afaka orphanage created an encouragement for the

development of other private educational initiatives in Istanbul as well as in the provinces.

Many of the founders of modern private schools in Istanbul were former instructors at theDr

-afaka. It would not be an exaggeration to talk about a Dr -afaka-wave.

All private Muslim schools in Istanbul shared the common worry of providing sound

Islamic knowledge to pupils. Within this common denominator, on the other hand, one group

of schools combined Islamic knowledge with modern course subjects, whereas another group

of schools put a major emphasis on religion.

Schools such as ems l-Marif(Sun of Education, 1873),Halle-i Mahmdiyye (Wife

of Mahmud 1878),Dar l-Feyz-i Hamd(the Hamidian Abode of Enlightenment, 1880),

Mekteb-i Hamd(the Hamidian School, 1882),mune-i Terakki (Example of Progress,

1884), Mekteb-i Osman(Ottoman School),Burhn- Terakki (Evidence of Progress,1888), ems l-Mektib (Sun of Schools, 1890) were institutions serving the upper middle-

class and wealthy citizens of Istanbul. The courses were designed to match their educational

counterparts in Western Europe. In all of these schools French was given priority.29 Among

these institutions the ems l-Marifwas founded by Abdi Kmil Efendi, a member of the

Dnme-community from Salonica. As will be seen below, Abdi Kmil Efendi previously took

part in founding a school in Salonica.30 On the other hand, Mehmed Ndir, founder of

mune-i Terakki , was a mathematical genius who previously had instructed at theDr -


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afaka and also at ems l-Marif. Most of these schools had also sections for female

students.31

The Medrese-i Hayriyye (School of Benevolence, 1876),Dr t-Talm (Abode of

Education, 1882),Rehber-i Marifet(Guide of Knowledge, 1887),Dr t-Tedrs (Abode

of Instruction, 1890), Mekteb-i Edeb (School of Literature) were schools offering a mainly

Arabic-language oriented and Islamic-based curricula. These schools satisfied the educational

and religious needs of the lower middle-class and modest Muslim families of Istanbul, who

were concerned that government schools and modern private schools would weaken the

religious beliefs of their children.32 The founder ofDr t-Talm, Hac brahim Efendi (1826-

1889), was a well-known personality due to his controversial claim that Ottoman Turkish

should be considered only a dialect (ive) of classical Arabic, the language of perfection.

According to him Ottoman Turkish could be properly taught only if the pupils would be

instructed classical Arabic. Since this claim was put forward at a time when cultural Turkism

was in rise, Hac brahims ideas created vehement reactions among the younger generations

of intellectuals.33

A different kind of a school was theRavza-i Terakki (Garden of Progress), opened in

1887 by Einli Faik Bey, a graduate ofDr -afaka. As a former orphan who suffered from

hardships in his childhood he dedicated himself to children in poverty. Thus he opened his

school in a poor neighbourhood of skdar, Istanbul. Most of the instructors were graduates

of theDr -afaka, who taught at this school for free. In a few years this school became

known to be a successful educational institution.34

Looking at the student body of these private schools, it is striking that schools such as

ems l-Marif, Halle-i Mahmdiyye, Dar l-Feyz-i Hamd, mune-i Terakki included

sizable numbers of non-Muslim students. This was true even for the more Islamic oriented

Rehber-i Marifet.35

The educational activities of Abdi Kmil Efendi in Istanbul, the foundation ofems l-Marif,and Mehmed Nadir Beys temporary connection to that school tells us about the

interaction and mutual influences between the private school traditions of Istanbul and of

Salonica.

Around 1893-1894, according to the official library statistics for the year 1311-1312 AH

there existed a total of twenty private schools in Istanbul, and nineteen of them consisted of

both primary and rdiyye-level classes.36 Nearly ten years later, according to the Official

Yearbook of the Ministry of Public Education for the year 1321 AH/1903 there existedfourteen private rdiyye and fifteen private primary schools in the capital, i.e. a total of


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twenty-nine primary schools.37 Thus, there has been a quantitative increase of private schools

of nearly forty per cent within a decade; however, the number of private rdiyyes had

declined.

Before moving to provincial private Muslim schools, the attitude of the regime of

Abdlhamid II concerning private Muslim schools in general should be discussed in short.

The Hamidian Regime and Private Muslim Schools

It was during the Hamidian regime that government education witnessed an unprecedented

expansion both in the capital and in the provinces. The Regulation of Public Education of

1869, until then applied only in the capital, began to be implemented at the provincial level.

Major progress was made to secure local financial resources such as the marif hisse-i inesi

(educational contribution tax) in founding idd-secondary schools in nearly all of the

provincial capitals and in other important provincial towns. At the same time, provincial

educational councils were set up which included representatives of local notables. The

inclusion of provincial notables in local educational administration enabled the securing of

other local funds for the support of provincial schools.38

Looking at the position of the Hamidian regime toward private Muslim schools, it can be

stated that the administration actively encouraged the foundation of private Muslim schools

and provided financial support to many of them. In fact, the Ottoman administration, from the

formation of the IAI in 1865 onwards, used to provide financial support to private Muslim

educational ventures as a part of the policy to expand schooling among the Muslim

population.39 The consolidation of the Hamidian regime, on the other hand, brought a certain

nuance in the government policy of supporting private ventures. There emerged a more

differentiated attitude toward private Muslim schools.

First of all, the Hamidian administration with its authoritarian character consideredindependent enterprises mostly with suspicion. Despite the fact that private schools were

encouraged, they at the same time were tried to be kept under surveillance. Consequently, the

attitude of the administration toward private Muslim schools could acquire variations related

to the character of the individual schools. Numerous private schools received financial

support, however at a price of being exposed to possible interferences from the government.

Certain other private schools, in spite of requesting for financial support, were ignored by the

regime. Such schools were possibly considered as too independent to be controlled, hence notworthy of financial support. In some cases, the central authority preferred to take


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administrative control over schools and turn them into government institutions. Finally, in

cases of open opposition to the regime or ethnic propaganda, the administration prohibited the

activities of such schools. As will be seen below, there were underground schools in Albania

where illegal education was offered to local students.

The position of the Hamidian administration concerning Muslim private schools was

clearly formulated in the Instruction of 1896, known as Vilyt- hne Marif Mdrlerinin

Vezifini Mbeyyin Talmt(Instruction Concerning the Duties of Directors of Education of

the Imperial Provinces). Here we see on the one hand an attitude to encourage and support

such initiatives, and on the other a tendency toward controlling and regulating. Article 26 of

the instruction states that one of the duties of the educational director of a province is to take

care of the private Muslim schools, founded and governed either by individuals or by local

communities. The educational director is expected to harmonize the curricula of these schools

with those designed by the Ministry of Public Education. In addition, he has to assure that the

teachers of these private schools be officially approved for instruction, and supervise the

financial incomes and expenditures of these institutions. If in financial need, the educational

director is empovered to provide material support to private Muslim schools.40

Private Muslim Schools in Salonica

From the early 1870s onwards members of theDnme community commenced with the

foundation of private Muslim schools in Salonica. Apart from the fact that the growing

integration of Salonica to world economy increased competition among various communities

and forced theDnme community to invest in modern education, a crucial factor has been the

need to expand Ottoman Turkish language proficiency among theDnmes. Until mid-

nineteenth century theDnmes, despite being nominally Muslims, were shy to interact with

other Muslims and preferred to lead a rather secluded life. This nearly two centuries-longseclusion provided the preservation of their ancient Castilian Spanish tongue, but prevented

them to acquire a substantial degree of proficiency in Ottoman Turkish language.41 As already

discussed, the Reform Edict of 1856 did establish legal equality among Muslims and non-

Muslims, promoted the notion of citizenship and provided the opportunity for all communities

to enter public service, bureaucracy and army. Under these new conditions certain members

of the Kapanc-group within theDnme community began to argue in favour of an increased

openness towards other Ottoman Muslims, and the expansion of Ottoman Turkish languagewithin the community. However, the more conservative Karaka-sect resisted to the opening


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of the community to the outside Muslim world. The disagreement between the members of

these groups reflected itself also in realm of education. It were the intellectuals of the

Kapanc-group who initiated the foundation of first private Muslim schools of Salonica,

which led to the rise of the Terakki-school. The Karaka-sect, in turn, responded by opening

theFeyziyye-school. In contrast to the Kapancs, the Karaka opened schools with the aim to

preserve the communal coherence of the latter group.42 These factors altogether promoted the

emergence of private Muslim educational initiatives in Salonica.

It appears to be that the earliest known attempt to found a modern Muslim private school

in Salonica came from Mehmed emseddin Efendi, smail Hakk Efendi and Halil Vehbi

Efendi. Mehmed emseddin Efendi (1852-1917), also known as emsi Efendi, was a

member of the Kapanc-group and a well-known Kabbalist. After graduating from the

rdiyye-school in Salonica, emsi Efendi learned French through personal effort and worked

at an unspecified foreign school. Receiving financial support of the Kapancs, emsi Efendi,

together with smail Hakk Efendi and Halil Vehbi Efendi, ventured to set up a modern

private primary school, which was founded in 1872 under the name Mekteb-i Sbyniyye-i

Osmniyye (Ottoman Primary School).43 This school was opened earlier thanDr -

afaka, and if disregarding those apprentice-schools founded by the IAI in 1865, it was

probably the earliest Turkish-speaking private Muslim school in the Ottoman Empire. It

included the instruction of Islamic religion, Ottoman Turkish and French. The significance of

this school lies in the fact that it was the first Muslim educational institution in a provincial

city where the educational method ofusul-i cedd(new method) was properly applied.44

During the governorship of Midhat Pasha in Salonica in early 1874 emsi Efendi was praised

and awarded by the governor due to the modern instruction offered at that school.45 One of

the founders of this school, smail Hakk Efendi, compiled the so-calledsmail Hakk Elifbs

(Primer of Ismail Hakk) which introduced a modern method of instructing Ottoman

letters.46It appears to be that after a short period smail Hakk Efendi and Halil Vehbi Efendi left

the Mekteb-i Sbyniyye-i Osmniyye. Around 1875 smail Hakk Efendi, together with Dervi

Efendi and Abdi Kmil Efendi, set up another primary school. At this school a major

emphasis was given to the instruction of French. It was even forbidden for the pupils to speak

any other language other than French within the school compound. As already mentioned

previously, Abdi Kmil Efendi had set up in stanbul the ems l-Marif. He wrote a primer

titled Mebde-i Krat(Beginning of Reading) as well as textbooks such as Tecvd


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(Recitation [of the Quran]),lm-i Hl(Catechism) andKavid-i Trkiyye (Turkish

Grammar).47

The emergence of two primary schools and the apparent disagreements between the

members of these schools were factors which brought up the issue of coordinating these

schools. In addition, the Russo-Ottoman War of 1877-1878 and conditions of political

uncertainty must have incited parts of the Kapanc-group to set up an institution which would

ensure some degree of stability in education. In June-July 1877 an educational commission,

theEncmen-i Terakki (Commission of Progress) was founded. This commission consisted

of thirteen members and chaired by Emin Ltfi Efendi. Its self-declared duties included the

inspection of the pupils and instructors twice a week and a weekly meeting where educational

issues would be discussed and decisions taken.48

It appears to be that between 1878 and 1882 the two schools, supervised by theEncmen-i

Terakki, merged into one primary school.49 From 1882 onwards this school was known as

Terakki Mektebi (School of Progress). Though emsi Efendis school Mekteb-i Sbyniyye-i

Osmniyye was one of the founder institutions of the Terakki Mektebi, emsi Efendi himself

did not take part in the teaching staff of the new school.50 As will be seen below, emsi

Efendi pursued a teaching career separate from the Terakki Mektebi.

The Terakki Mektebi consisted of nearly two hundred students, and in addition to Turkish,

Arabic and Persian, a special emphasis was given to the instruction of French language. The

director ofTerakki Mektebi in the early 1880s was a certain ovalyeEfendi, apparently of

French origin. In 1893 a section for female students was founded (Terakki Kz Mektebi), and

around the same time a kindergarten (vlide snf, mother-class) was included. The director

of the female section was again a foreign female teacher.51 As will be seen below, these new

sections were opened three years after same steps were taken by the rivalFeyz-i Sbyn

Mektebi of the Karaka-sect. The employment of foreign personnel at the administrative level

is a possible indication that the Terakki Mektebi was enjoying powerful financial support froma part of theDnme-community. Though this school formally was at the rdiyye-level, the

educational quality was considered to be equal to government day-time idd-schools. The

instruction of additional courses related to commerce and economics provided its male

graduates the advantage to be employed at various companies located in Salonica.52 In 1900,

to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Sultan Abdlhamids accession to the throne,

the school was renamed as Ydigr- Terakki Mektebi (Souvenir of Progress-School) to

express loyalty to the monarch. In 1902 iddlevel classes were introduced together withnew boarding facilities. 53 This successful school became a meaningful educational alternative


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for those Muslim families who did not wish to send their kids to government schools or to

schools of other communities.

Looking at emsi Efendis later educational activities, he opened a new primary school

toward the mid 1880s. The founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatrk,

received his primary education at that school. Around 1890 this second school merged with

theFeyz-i Sbyn Mektebi, and emsi Efendi continued as instructor at the latter school. 54 In

1894 emsi Efendi founded a third school, theRavza-i Talm Mektebi (Garden of Instruction

School). However, this school does not appear to have lasted for long. Between 1872 and

1894 emsi Efendi founded at least three schools, but none of them had an institutional

continuity. Finally emsi Efendi acted as instructor for Islamic Catechism and Reading

(Akaid-i Diniyye ve Krat Muallimi) as well as Arabic Practices (Tatbkat- Arabiyye

Muallimi) at the primary-level classes ofFeyz-i Sbyn Mektebi (1885-1908).55

It is noteworthy that though emsi Efendi was originally from the Kapanc-group and

supported by that circle, he in his later years taught at the Karaka institution ofFeyz-i Sbyn

school.

TheFeyz-i Sbyn Mektebi (School for the Enlightenment of Children) was founded in

1885 by members of the Karaka-sect.56 The founder of the school was Mustafa Tevfik, a

civil servant at the provincial administration of Salonica. In 1890, a female section was

inaugurated (Feyz-i Sbyn Kz Mektebi, Feyz-i Sbyan Girls School) together with a

kindergarten. Similar to the Terakki-school, the director of the female section was a foreigner,

a certain Madame Clothilde.57 In the same year, emsi Efendis primary school merged with

theFeyz-i Sbyn-School. In 1900 this school began to be calledFeyziyye Mektebi

(Enlightenment School). In terms of curriculum, student body and educational quality, the

Feyziyye School was nearly equal to its rival, the Ydigr- Terakki School. Again the

teaching of French was given a special emphasis, while Ottoman Turkish, Arabic and Persian

as well as Islamic subjects were taught in an intensive manner. Educational tools such asmaps, posters of animals and plants, instruments for physics and chemistry courses were

imported from Europe.58 Courses related to commerce, economics, economic geography and

book-keeping occupied more weekly hours at advanced classes of this school where the

teaching period lasted nine years. What strikes is that graduates of the Civil Servant School

(Mekteb-i Mlkiyye) in Istanbul were hired as instructors at theFeyziyye School.59

In 1902 Mehmed Cvid Bey, the later Young Turk minister of finances (1875-1926),

became the director ofFeyziyye and remained at this position until 1908. Cvid Bey was asupporter of the then illegal Young Turk opposition and influenced some of the students of


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brahim Bey, to be replaced later by Sadi Bey. In 1882 this school consisted of six classes,

with altogether 230 pupils.65

Following the Balkan Wars and the Population Exchange of 1923-1924 with Greece, the

Terakki andFeyziyye-educational traditions moved to Istanbul, and still continue to exist in

Turkey. Numerous authors have underlined the crucial role theDnme-schools have played in

the modernization of the urban Turkish Muslim society. Graduates of the Ydigr- Terakki

andFeyziyye made major contributions to modernize the late Ottoman Empire and the early

republican Turkey.

Private Schools in Izmir

Izmir was another major Turkish-speaking center where private Muslim schools

flourished. Despite the fact that Izmir, similar to Salonica, emerged as a major porte town

with connections to world markets, the development of Muslim private schools came rather

belatedly. The existence of theDnme-community in Salonica appears to be a major factor for

the expansion of private schools in that city. In Izmir, however, a stratum of urban Muslims

with a modern educational vision eager to invest financial resources to educational ventures

appeared in the 1890s. It is noteworthy that many of the private schools of Izmir were

founded by members of the ulema. Though chronologically being a latecomer as a major

educational center, Izmir as a locus of private educational ventures exceeded Salonica in

terms of the quantity of schools and even came close to Istanbul.

Probably the first private Muslim school of Izmir was founded in 1886. The Terakki

Mektebi (School of Progress) apparently was founded with some degree of administrative

support, since the founders included names such as vice governor Ragp Pasha and secretary

general of Aydn province, Kadri Bey. It consisted of primary-, rdiyye- as well as idd-

level classes. This school was closed down in 1892 due to its inability to compete with thegovernment idd-school.66 The failure of this school seems to be noteworthy, since well-

managed and sufficiently-staffed private schools usually were able to attract the children of

those wealthy Muslim families who were dissatisfied with the quality of government schools.

Though difficult to determine the factors behind the closure of the Terakki Mektebi, it might

indicate an actual insufficiency of this school as an institution.

Following a hiatus of five years, a new private school was set up by an ulema from

Albania, kodral Mahmud Nedim Efendi. The Menba-y Fyuzt Mektebi (Source ofEnlightenment School, 1897) originally included primary- and rdiyye-level classes. After


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few years idd-level classes were also included. This school provided modern education,

while putting a strong emphasis on Islamic subjects.67 The Menba-y Fyuzt Mektebi was

successful in terms of addressing the religious concerns of the conservative Muslim families

of Izmir in terms of the Islamic education of their children.

The foundation of a modern private school with an emphasis on Islam possibly challenged

those secular-oriented Muslim strata toward the setting up of an alternative private school

with innovative qualities. In 1897 Yusuf Rza Efendi and Giridli Ali Efendi founded theDr

l-rfan Mektebi (Abode of Knowledge School). Though both founders were again from the

ulema, they pursued a modernist educational policy. This school admitted also non-Muslim

students. In addition to the obligatory curriculum imposed by the Ministry of Education, the

Dr l-rfan Mektebi included the instruction of English language. Special emphasis was

given to musics and gymnastics. Yusuf Rza Efendi and Giridli Ali Efendi conceived their

institution as a rival of the Menba-y Fyuzt Mektebi. In 1905 it opened boarding facilities.68

In 1901 theDr l-rfan founded a section for female students, namedBedreka-y rfan

Mektebi (Guide to Knowledge School). This section, consisting of primary- and rdiyye-

level classes, was indeed the first private Muslim school for girls in Izmir.69

Between 1897 and 1901 the Menba-y Fyuztand theDr l-rfan seemed to cover to

some extent the Muslim Turkish demand of Izmir for private schools. From 1901 onwards

one observes the foundation of a series of new private institutions.

TheDr l-Edeb Mektebi (Abode of Literature, 1901) was set up by Yusuf Ziya Efendi,

the former director of the Teachers Seminar of Izmir. In the same year zmirli Sadk Efendi,

an ulema, founded theBurhan l-Marif Mektebi (Evidence of Education). In 1902 another

ulema, Abrurrahman Efendi opened theKenz l-Marif Mektebi (Treasure of Education).

All these schools consisted of primary-level classes, employing modern teaching methods.

Finally, in 1907, the ulema Mderris Hafz Osman Ferid Efendi set up theDr t-Tedrs

Mektebi (Abode of Instruction). The latter school, similar to the school in Istanbul with thesimilar name, was a mainly Islamic-oriented institution. Despite the fact that it included

rdiyye-level classes, its educational outlook was traditionalistic, and was devoid of courses

like French, history or geography.70

In contrast to Istanbul and Salonica, Izmir was the only major Turkish-speaking city where

a private school for Muslim girls was founded, being a completely independent institution

without being a part of a male school, and opened by a Muslim woman. TheRavza-y rfan

nas Mektebi (Garden of Knowledge Girls School, 1905) was built by Fatma Zn Hanm.Following her graduation from the Teachers Seminary for Women in Istanbul (Dr l-


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Muallimt), she came to Izmir and became the founder as well as the director of this school.

This institution included both primary- and rdiyye-level classes, and known to be a modern

school. It is possible that Fatma Zn Hanm was the first female Muslim pedagogue in the

Ottoman Empire who founded a modern school on her own.71

Similar to Salonica, the integration of Izmir into world economy led to the setting up of a

private Muslim school of commerce. TheLisn ve Ticret Mektebi (School of Language and

Commerce, 1903) was founded by Bakczde smail Hakk (1860-1930?). Bakzde was

a local notable of Izmir, who, after studying at a local medrese of Izmir, went to Istanbul and

graduated from the School of Law (Mekteb-i Hukuk). Following a bureaucratic career by

serving as secretary at local administrations of various provinces, Bakzde returned to his

native city and published the dailyzmir(1890). It was during this period that he founded the

Lisn ve Ticret Mektebi. This school, consisting of secondary-level classes, offered courses

such as English, German and Modern Greek as well as professional courses pertaining to

commerce, economics and law.72

It can be observed that Izmir as a Turkish-speaking major port town of Anatolia was not a

part of mutual educational exchange in terms of private Muslim schools, which could be seen

between Istanbul and Salonica. Izmir was rather a regional cultural center for itself,

influencing its immediate environment.

Private Schools in Anatolian Towns: Influences ofDr -afaka at the Provincial Level

It is noteworthy that theDr -afaka-wave, which promoted the foundation of a number

of private schools in Istanbul, had also a partial effect in Anatolia. We know that at least in

the town of Balkesri (west Anatolia) the first private secondary school was set up in 1886 by

Ahmed Nureddin Efendi, who was a graduate of theDr -afaka-school. This school, the

Medrese-i Edebiye (School of Literature), contained also primary-level classes. However,this venture could not last long, since at that time Balkesri was only a town of six thousand

populations, and the school probably did not receive a substantial financial backing from the

local Muslim notables. After two months this school was closed down.73 Shortly afterwards

Ahmed Nureddin Efendi returned to the capital and eventually became the director of

telegraphic communications at Yldz Palace.74

Trabzon is another town where theDr -afaka-tradition imposed its influence.As a

Black Sea port town, Trabzon was an access porte to inner parts of east Anatolia as well as toCaucasus and Iran. Being a center of the region of Pontus, Trabzon experienced major


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educational developments, promoted mainly by the local Greek community. As a

consequence there existed toward 1880 well-equipped Greek secondary schools and a Greek

high school. In addition, there were schools for Armenians, Catholics as well as a French and

a Protestant educational institution. In contrast, Muslim education was characterized mainly

by Quran schools and only one government rdiyye-school.75 In 1880 Muslim notables of

Trabzon, considering the pressing need for modern Muslim education, took steps to found a

modern private Muslim secondary school. This group of notables, consisting of ten

individuals led by Nemlizde Hikmet, Nemlizde Hac Ahmed and Mehmed Efendi, invited

the poet and intellectual Ali Nak Efendi from Istanbul to Trabzon to support their project. As

already discussed previously, Ali Nak Efendi had already taken part in the formation of the

IAI and theDr -afaka in Istanbul. Being originally from Trabzon, he invested his energy

for this project and founded the Mekteb-i Hamidiyye (The Hamidian School) primary and

secondary school. It appears to be that this school offered courses for French as well as

gymnastics.76

In 1887, upon the foundation of the government idd-school in Trabzon, the Mekteb-i

Hamidiyye school became integrated into the government school. Ali Nak Efendi was

appointed director of the government iddand also became the Director of Education of the

province of Trabzon.77 There are no clues whether this development was forced by the

government to put this school under strict administrative control. We know that such a policy

was not applied for any of the private Muslim schools in Salonica or in Izmir. On the other

hand, as will be seen below, the Maqsid-schools of the Levante were forced to be integrated

into the government educational system due to possible political concerns of the central

authority.

While the upper classes of the Mekteb-i Hamidiyyebecame a part of the government iddi-

school, the primary-level classes of the formerMekteb-i Hamidiyye continued to function

independently as a primary school named as Zeytinlik Mektebi (Olive Grove School). Thisschool was directed by a local ulema, brahim Cdi Efendi (1864-1926). brahim Cdi Efendi

was a prominent personality well-respected not only by Muslims, but also by local non-

Muslims. He acted at different times as school administrator and Turkish language teacher as

well as history instructor at local French, Greek, Armenian and Persian schools. In addition,

he became member of the local educational council. He wrote a number of school textbooks

on Ottoman ortography, Islamic catechism, Islamic history and history of the prophets. He

also compiled a dictionary of Arabic and Persian words, to be used by secondary-level schoolpupils.78 This school, today known as Cudibey lkokulu, still functions in Trabzon.


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Another private school related to a certain extent toDr -afaka-tradition was founded

in the town of Adapazar, located east of Istanbul. As discussed above, Einli Faik Bey,

founder of theRavza-i Terakki in Istanbul, was a graduate ofDr -afaka and a promoter of

philanthropic ideals. Following the success of his school, Faik Bey went to Adapazar in the

early 1890s to open another private school. Like theRavza-i Terakki in Istanbul, this school

aimed at providing education to orphans and children of modest background.79

Other Private Schools in the Turkish-Speaking Provinces

It is difficult to provide information on other private schools in the Turkish-speaking

provinces. Looking at the official yearbooks, it is possible to trace some data on Muslim

private schools in the Anatolian and Balkan provinces. The earliest official yearbook which

provides statistical data on private schools at empire-wide level is the State Yearbook for

1328. It displays information dating from 1906-07. Here we can get certain statistics about

primary-level private schools. However, there are some problems about this data. For

example, looking for the province Edirne, it appears to be that in 1906-07 there were 14

private primary schools (hussi ibtid) for boys, 4 private primary schools for girls, and

103 co-educational private primary schools. For the province of Hdvendigr

(northwestern Anatolia, administered from Bursa) we get the figures 1208 for boys private

primary schools, 7 for girls private primary schools, and 191 co-educational private

primary schools.80 These rather high numbers of private schools creates the suspicion that

these statistics possibly did not make a differentiation between traditional Quranic schools

and private primary schools in the modern sense. Thus these figures cannot be considered as

reliable in terms of differentiating between traditional Quranic schools and modern private

primary schools.

Looking at the figures forrdiyye-schools, the quantitative data appears to be a little morereliable. Since rdiyye-schools by definition did not have a traditional Muslim alternative,

the numbers provided can be considered to be representing modern schools. Accordingly,

there existed around the period of 1906-1907 six private rdiyye-schools in the province of

Monastir, and one each for Afyon (province of Hdvendigr), Ankara, and Isparta (province

of Konya).81 Despite the fact that these numbers may be correct for the provinces mentioned,

it also has to be kept in mind that these figures do not really represent all of the existing

private secondary schools in the empire. As discussed above, Salonica and Izmir hostednumerous private schools, which are not registered at the State Yearbook of 1328.


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In addition, the increasing expansion of private Muslim schools in Izmir had its effects in

other towns of western Anatolia. TheDr l-rfan Mektebi of Izmir opened private schools in

the towns of demi and Alaehir. This example tells us that Izmir as a regional urban center

developed its own educational tradition which began to expand in western Anatolia.82

Private Muslim Schools in non-Turkish Provinces

Private Muslim schools in non-Turkish regions of the Ottoman Empire developed due to

reasons comparable to the factors leading to the emergence of the IAI and theDr -afaka-

school in Istanbul. The inclusion of coastal regions to the world economy and the rise of non-

Muslim merchants created a new environment of competition which strengthened upon the

urban Muslim notables of Syria the consciousness of the importance of modern education.

Also, local notables were worried concerning the influence of non-Muslim as well as foreign

missionary schools over Muslim youth. In addition there existed a distrust of the local

population toward government schools in terms of its ability to convey proper religious values

to the children.83

However, there were additional factors, absent in Istanbul, Salonica, Izmir or Trabzon,

which triggered the foundation of local private schools in the Levante and in the Albanian

provinces. The Tanzimat reforms of the mid-nineteenth century brought unprecedented

centralization to Syria as well as to the western Balkans. The application of the principles of

the Edict of Glhane of 1839 in these regions more or less curtailed ancient feudal privileges

and autonomous social structures. Local powerholders came to realize for the first time a

direct presence of central authority in their regions. Moreover, the Reform Edict of 1856

stipulated legal equality between Muslims and non-Muslims, which destroyed ancient

communal balances both in Albania and in the Levante, leading to civil-warlike circumstances

in localities like Shkodr or Damascus. It is noteworthy that school expansion in westernBalkans and in Syria began after the incidents in these cities.84

The Russo-Ottoman War of 1877-78 revealed everybody about the probability of the

dissolution of the empire in the forseeable future. This condition of uncertainty strengthened

local activities to found schools which were designed to address local cultural and political

needs. It was under these conditions that the Maqsid-movement flourished in the Levante,

while the demand for Albanian education was expressed by the League of Prizren.

A local school development which does not fit into this framework were the privateschools in the Hijaz. These educational bodies constituted a phenomenon more cosmopolitan


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and Islamic in nature. It was cosmopolitan, since the promoters were not originating from the

Hijaz, and found schools which were open to pupils from all parts of the Islamic world. Since

the founder of the earliest private school in Mecca was an ulema from India and had

experienced British rule and political subjugation, he probably was concerned about the

cultural and educational backwardness of the Islamic world vis--vis the West. It might be

possible that the founders of other private schools in the Hijaz shared similar sentiments. If

these assumptions are correct, the supporters of this Hijazi educational development shared an

Islamic global worldview, and the schools they founded were characterized by a major stress

on Islamic subjects.

There is no sign that any of these non-Turkish private educational developments remained

in an educational and institutional exchange with the private school movements of Istanbul,

Salonica or Izmir. However, educational developments in Syria and Albania were not isolated

from the expansion of government schools in these regions. In many cases instructors of the

local ventures were also teachers in government schools, or a former private school director

became an administrator of a government school. The private ventures in Hijaz, in contrast,

remained isolated from the process of educational modernization emanating from the imperial

center.

The State Yearbook of 1328, which we already had discussed within the Anatolian

context, also provides data on private Muslim schools in the Arabic-speaking provinces for

the period of 1906-1907. Looking at the more reliable data concerning private rdiyye-

schools, we encounter for the province of Beirut, which included towns of Nablus and Acre

in the south as well as the porte of Lattakia at the northwestern Syrian coastline, a total of six

schools. There is no data for the provinces of Damascus, Aleppo or Baghdad. The only other

Arabic speaking province which included data concerning private rdiyye schools is the

Hijaz, with a total of four schools.85 However, as already mentioned above, these figures may

represent only Beirut and Hijaz, and it is highly possible that there existed other modernMuslim private schools in other urban centers like Damascus and Aleppo, considering that in

1879-1882 Maqsid-schools were founded there too.

The Maqsid-Movement in Greater Syria

The emergence of private Muslim schools of Greater Syria could be traced back to the

efforts of the Protestant Arab encyclopedist and enlightener, Butrus al-Bustn (1819-1883).Originally a Maronite Christian, al-Bustn acted as teacher at the American Protestant school


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at Abh (Beirut) following his conversion to the Protestant creed (1846-1848). Until the early

1860s, while acting as translator at the American consulate in Beirut, al-Bustn was engaged

in the translation of the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into modern Arabic. From 1863

onwards al-Bustn dedicated his energy to educational cause by founding the school

Madrasa Wataniya (Homeland School). It is essential to note that al-Bustn seems to have

developed his educational vision to a considerable extent through the inspiration he got from

the philantropic educational model of the American missionaries.86

At the Madrasa Wataniya modern educational subjects were taught in Arabic language.

This was the first institution in the Ottoman Arab region which admitted pupils of all

denominations. Its teachers included both Christians and Muslims. Despite the fact that this

school functioned only until 1875, its graduates formed a new generation who initiated or

inspired the setting up of Muslim private schools in Greater Syria. Among its graduates were

personalities known for their educational activities such as Abd al-Qdir al-Qabbn and

Mahmd Minah al-Sulh, while Shaikh Ahmad Abbs al-Azhar was one of the instructors.87

A small circle of Muslims of Beirut, influenced and inspired by the Madrasa Wataniya of

al-Bustn, considered the necessity to expand modern education among the Muslim

population. This circle, which included also the educator and publisher Abd al-Qdir al-

Qabbn (1847-1935), founded around 1875 theJamyat al-Funn (Society for

Experimental Sciences) to promote an interest among the population for science and

culture.88 This society began to publish the journal Thamart al-Funn (Benefits of

Experimental Sciences), which was informing the reader about the latest scientific

discoveries and technological inventions. Besides, the attention was drawn on the local

Christian associations which were founding schools, and implied that Muslims themselves

should found schools to expand education in the region. It was claimed that Muslim boys

were not admitted to government rdiyye-schools due to their lack of elementary education.

Meanwhile al-Qabbn compiled the primerKitb al-Hij li-Talm al-Atfl(Book ofLetters for the Instruction of Children), which was printed and distributed by this society. It

proved to be a success and underwent numerous editions.89

Al-Qabbns concern for founding modern primary schools for local Muslims led him to

negotiate with the notables of Beirut. After ensuring the financial support of some of the

notables, al-Qabbn founded theJamyat al-Maqsid al-Khairya al-Islmya (The Islamic

Association for Benevolent Aims) in July 1878. This association was able to found in Beirut

two primary schools for girls (1878-1879).90


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In these years Midhat Pasha, the governor of Syria, was impressed by this association and

encouraged the foundation of similarMaqsid-associations in Damascus, Saida, Lattakia,

Tripoli, Acre and Hums. All these towns were within the administrative jursdiction of Midhat

Pasha, and he personally induced local notables to support Maqsid-associations. These

developments were reported in Thamart al-Funn, which was probably followed by the

urban elites of other Syrian towns. This may be one explanation for the fact that similar

Maqsid-associations were established between 1879-1882 in towns such as Aleppo,

Jerusalem and Jaffa, which were outside Midhat Pashas administrative realm. These

developments point to the development of a local dynamism for the expansion of education in

Greater Syria.91

The Maqsid-association of Damascus was able to found eight primary schools for boys,

and the association of Beirut founded two primary schools for boys and two for girls. In

addition, a secondary school, called Madrasa al-Sultnya (Sultanic School) was

established. OtherMaqsid-associations, however, were not able to establish more than one

or at most two primary schools. This situation was connected with the local financial sources

available for the construction of schools. Midhat Pasha attempted to allocate a part of the

incomes of the local Islamic foundations for the foundation of these schools. The ulema of

Beirut were willing to provide support, whereas the notables of Damascus fiercely resisted the

governors efforts.92

The governorship of Midhat Pasha in Syria (1878-1880) coincided with a period when

Ottoman central authority had been weakened due to the disastrous Russo-Ottoman War and

French and British rivalry for extending their influence in Greater Syria gained an impetus.

Already being a suspected personality in the eyes of Abdlhamid II, Midhat Pashas

independent policies in Syria and his support to the Maqsid-associations was perhaps

interpreted by the Sublime Porte as steps of the governor toward securing a local power basis

for himself. Not surprisingly, Midhat Pasha was promptly dismissed from the governorship ofSyria and replaced by Ahmed Hamdi Pasha, former grand vizier and a military officer known

to be loyal to the sultan.93

Ahmed Hamdi Pasha, pursued a different strategy to find financial sources for these

private schools: he succeeded in 1881 to transfer parts of the government funds, designed

originally for supporting local government rdiyyes, to the Maqsid-schools. However, this

positive development brought together the growing dependence of the Maqsid-schools to

state funds. This tendency turned in a very short time into a complete take-over of theMaqsid-associations and schools by the Ottoman state: in 1882 the Ottoman administration


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took the step of turning the Maqsid-associations of Beirut, Damascus and Tripoli into

official provincial educational councils (meclis-i marif). Though the membership of the

formerMaqsid-associations remained nearly the same as the new official councils, the

chairmen of these new councils were appointed officials from Istanbul. This meant that the

autonomy of these associations had terminated. All of the schools, previously founded by the

Maqsid-associations, became government schools. Also, the Madrasa al- Sultnya in

Beirut was converted into a government idd-school.94

This transformation of the originally independent Maqsid-associations of Beirut,

Damascus and Tripoli into official educational councils could be interpreted as a part of the

state policy to implement the stipulations of the Regulation of Public Education of 1869. As

discussed previously, provincial education was to be regulated by local educational councils,

consisting both of local notables and appointed officials. Through this transformation in 1882

the Regulation of Public Education began to be fully implemented in Greater Syria. Abd al-

Qdir al-Qabbn remained member of the educational council of Beirut, and even became the

Ottoman educational director for the Beirut province toward the end of the Hamidian

regime.95

There have been discussions among historians concerning the possible reasons for the

transformation of the Maqsid-associations into state bodies. According to Donald Cioeta

these associations were purely benevolent educational and cultural formations, without any

political aim. This view has been contested by historians like Fritz Steppat, Shimon Shamir as

well as Abdellatif Tibawi, who stated that the Maqsid-associations were rather political

bodies. Steppat and Shamir underlined that these associations were encouraged by Midhat

Pasha to create a movement which would perhaps serve his political ambitions vis--vis the

Sublime Porte. In addition, Steppat and Tibawi underlined the growing politicization of the

regional notables during the Russo-Ottoman War of 1877-78 and the emergence of a demand

for an autonomy for Syria. According to Steppat Maqsid-associations, which were controlledby local notables, were considered as harmful to state interests, and therefore transformed into

official bodies or even closed down.96

The neutralization of the Maqsid-associations led the well-known Egyptian Islamic

Modernist, Muhammed Abduh, to write a memorandum to the governor of Syria. In this

memorandum Abduh claimed that it were the jealousy of the local Christians concerning the

successes of these associations which led them to propagate the idea that the Maqsid-

associations were bodies with political goals. According to Abduh the neutralization and


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closure of the Maqsid-associations meant a major loss for the Muslims and a gain for the

Christians.97

It appears to be that otherMaqsid-associations did not suffer the same fate as the

associations of Beirut, Damascus, and Tripoli. In a report, prepared at a later time, the

observation was made that the Maqsid-association of Saida, founded by Mahmd Mina al-

Sulh, became financially stabil in the course of the 1880s and was able to found a private

school in Nabtiya. The Maqsid-association of Saida, toward 1908, was coordinating two

primary schools for boys and two for girls. The total number of students was 618 male and

532 female students, together with 17 male and 18 female instructors. However, due to the

intensivity of the Hamidian administrative control that association remained, until the Young

Turk Revolution of 1908, unable to act independent of the district governor (kaymakam). 98

There existed other private educational ventures, independent of the Maqsid-associations.

One of them was founded in Tripoli by an Islamic scholar, Husayn al-Jisr Tarblus (1845-

1909).99 Known to be an Islamic modernist and maintaining contacts with Abdlhamid II, he

founded in Tripoli a Madrasa al-Watanya (Homeland School), which was indeed a

secondary-level school. The educational philosophy of this school was to combine Islamic

and modern sciences. Arabic, Turkish and French were taught at this school. The natural

scientific textbooks, used at this school, were the Arabic-language textbooks compiled by the

American missionary Dr.Cornelius Van Dyck to be used at the American Protestant

missionary schools. Tarblus tried hard to have his school acquire the official status of a

religious school, which would exempt the students from compulsory military service. When

the government refused to acknowledge this school as a religious institution, Tarblus had to

close down this school (1883).100

In 1895 Shaikh Ahmad Abbs al-Azhar, the former founder of the Maqsid-association

of Damascus, opened in Beirut a new secondary school, the Madrasa al-Uthmnya

(Ottoman School), which had similar educational ideals as Tarbluss former school inTripoli. Despite the modernist Islamic character of this school, also non-Muslims were

admitted to this institution. This educational venture proved to be a success, since it was able

to attract double as much students as the government idd-school was able to do. Most of its

students belonged to the wealthy Sunni Muslim upper class of Beirut. In addition, boys from

other parts of the Islamic world came to study at the Madrasa al-Uthmnya. This school

included also special classes which was in fact a school for commerce. Arab nationalist

intellectuals such as Abd al-Ghan al-Urais graduated from this school. In 1911 the


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Ministry of Education accepted the enlargement of this institution into a higher educational

body, which took the name al-Kullya al-Uthmnya (Ottoman College).101

We learn from R.Tammi and Behcet that the Muslims of Haifa following the Young Turk

Revolution founded two cultural associations, the al-Ih al-Islm(Islamic Brotherhood)

and theahda al- Tamthl al-Arab(The Advancement of Arabic Theater). Among these,

theahda al-Tamthl al-Arabdid not restrict itself with theater, but also founded a primary

school, called Maktab an-ahda. However, this school was not successful, and had to be

closed. During the Young Turk period Muslim private schools were also founded in

Jerusalem and Nablus.102

The Maqsid-movement and its intellectual continuations in Tripoli and Beirut cannot be

understood fully without considering the political repercussions of the Russo-Ottoman War of

1877-78 and the emergence of new political aspirations in the form of benevolent cultural

associations. Similar historical cirsumstances created comparable developments in the

western Balkans, among Albanian intellectuals, however with different administrative

reactions and unique outcomes.

Struggle for Education: Underground Albanian Schools

The measures of centralization in the Western Balkans during the period of 1820-1850 was

met with a strong local resistance. Even after the power of powerful Albanian landlords such

as Buatl Mustafa Pasha and Tepedelenli Ali Pasha were crushed, regional unrest did not

terminate until 1844-45. The introduction of standard obligations such as taxation and

obligatory military service were conceived by the local population as equal to foreign

occupation. Therefore it is striking that around the same period of resistance to centralizing

reforms there emerged early steps toward the promotion of national Albanian culture.103

In 1844 Naum Veqilharxhi, a Greek Orthodox Albanian intellectual and previouslyinfluenced by Hellenic ideals, developed the first Albanian national alphabet. In the 1850s

members of the Albanian colony in Istanbul found a cultural association with the object of

printing books in Albanian language and of setting up Albanian schools. However, there is no

data concerning the outcome of these attempts.104

The uprisings in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1875, the Bulgarian rebellion of 1876 and the

following Balkan crisis leading to the Russo-Ottoman War of 1877-78 jeapordized the

political existence of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans. Educated Albanians worried thatthe collapse of the Ottoman rule in the region would lead to the partitioning of the Albanian


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lands among the neighbouring Balkan monarchies. Due to these concerns, leading Albanian

notables and intellectuals formed theArnaudluk ttihad (Lidhja e Prizrendit, League of

Prizren) to convey to the international community as well as to the Sublime Porte the

political will of the Muslim and Christian Albanians to remain united as one nation. Among

other political and administrative demands, the League of Prizren appealed for the foundation

of Albanian schools.105

The Hamidian regime considered the Muslim Albanians, who constituted the majority of

the Albanian population, as the demographic backbone of the Ottoman political presence in

the western Balkans. Thus a major emphasis was put on the religious bonds between the

Muslim Albanians and the Ottoman state. Therefore, any manifestation of secular Albanian

nationalism and as well as Albanian national culture was regarded by the Ottoman

administration as a major threat to the future of the Ottoman political presence in the

region.106

Any open expression of Albanian nationalism began to be subdued by the administration

following the suppression of the League of Prizren in 1881. However, Albanian nationalism

continued to express itself in cultural and educational forms. The well-known Ottoman-

Albanian encyclopedist emseddin Sami Frashri (1850-1904) had developed in 1878 his

own version of an Albanian alphabet. His brother, Naim Frashri (1846-1900), who was the

director for the supervision of texts at the Ministry of Public Education, wrote textbooks in

Albanian language for primary-level schools.107 However, Albanian-language Muslim schools

were not allowed in principle by the Ottoman administration. One attempt was to found an

Albanian-language primary school for Orthodox Albanian boys, which was set up in Kor

(province of Manastr) in 1887. In 1891 girls were also admitted to this institution. This

school was closed down in 1902, when the Ottoman authorities suspected that this school was

secretly attended by Muslim Albanian boys. Some other schools were opened in the region of

Kor and Janina (southern Albania and northern Greece). Their educational quality,however, was lower than regular primary schools.108

Despite political pressures and secret police surveillance, the demand for Albanian schools

rose in towns such as Debar, Elbasan, Kolonj, Kor, Ohrid, Tepelene, Tirana and Vlor. As

a consequence there emerged an Albanian national education of a conspirative nature,

where pupils learned reading and writing through notebooks on the knees. The necessary

primers and textbooks were compiled and printed by Albanian cultural associations (Drita

[Light], Dituria [Knowledge], Shpresa [Hope]) located in Bucharest, i.e. outside theOttoman borders. These illegal educational material were smuggled by merchants from


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Bucharest and Sofia to the abovementioned towns. Instructors, who were teaching at daytime

at government rdiyye- and iddi-schools in Turkish, offered the same education to the same

students at night time in Albanian language. This education was provided at make-shift

schools at abandoned warehouses and stores.109

The guerilla activities of various Balkan etnicities against the Sublime Porte and against

each other reached a climax when Bulgarians opened the major revolt of St.Elias (Ilinden) in

1903 and founded the short-living socialist republic of Krushevo. The bloody suppression of

this revolt triggered a international political intervention which forced the Ottoman state to

accept a Macedonian reform scheme. This reform process signified an increasing

administrative and financial involvement of the great powers in western Balkans. Albanian

notables suspected that this process would work for the benefit of the Christian ethnicities at

the expence of the local Muslims. Thus, from 1905 onwards some Albanian landlords from

the region of Leskovik (southern Albania), being in contact with Albanian associations in

Bucharest, took steps to develop independent Albanian education. These notables went to

London to provide the necessary educational material to found schools with Albanian as the

language of instruction. However, the Hamidian regime became informed about these

activities and succeeded to prevent this undertaking.110

The issue of Albanian education was taken into consideration by a different authority, i.e.

the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Austro-Hungarians were concerned that the collapse of the

Ottoman administration in the Balkans would strengthen the Slavic elements while Albania

would be partitioned by the Balkan monarchies. An increase of Slavic power in the Balkans,

however, would not be in the interest of the Danubian Monarchy who was confronting its own

Slavic separatist movements, and feeling threatened by Panslavism. Therefore Austro-

Hungarians pursued the policy to support and strengthen Albanian nationalism as a counter-

balance to the Balkan Slavs. A close ally of the Austro-Hungarians was Faik Konitza, a

landlord and intellectual, who offered in 1897 Austro-Hungarian authorities a comprehensiveprogramme for the foundation of Albanian schools and the development of Albanian national

consciousness. As a consequence of such contacts, Austro-Hungarians provided the support of

local landlords such as Murad Toptani and Dervish Elbasani for the development of Albanian

schools. The Ottoman administration, realizing the activities of Murad Bey and Dervish Bey,

promptly arrested them (1898).111

It was only following the Young Turk Revolution of 1908 that Albanians found greater

freedom to set up their own schools.


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Private Schools in the Hijaz

A region which manifested private school developments but cannot be easily placed within a

clear pattern shared by other private educational ventures of the Balkans, Anatolia or Greater

Syria is the province of Hijaz, located in the Arabian peninsula. There, we observe a

concentration of Muslim primary schools in the Hijazi cities of Mecca, Jiddah, and Medina.

During the early decades of Islam these three cities were the main cultural centres of Islam.

With the globalization of Islam during the following centuries main political and cultural

centres of the Muslim world shifted from the Arabian peninsula to Damascus, Baghdad,

Cairo, Cordoba, Isfahan, Samarkand, and Istanbul. In comparison to these centres, cultural

life in the Hijaz observed stagnation. Travellers visiting Mecca, Medina and Jiddah in the

mid-nineteenth century observed the low level of education even compared to the traditional

schools of Syria or Egypt.112 However, from the mid-1870s onwards there emerged

educational ventures to found private schools which included also modern subjects.

It should be remembered that Mecca and Jiddah in particular were urban concentrations

with a highly cosmopolitan nature. Due to the regular visits of thousands of pilgrims from all

parts of the globe, these places functioned for a long time as commercial centers, with resident

merchants from India, Jawa, North Africa, Russia and Central Asia.113 It were indeed

Muslims from India who began to open private schools in the Hijaz.

The first private school was founded in Mecca in 1875 by the Indian Islamic scholar

Shaikh Rahmatullah Khall al-Uthmn from Muzaffarnagar (north of Delhi). He had been

politically active in India and was forced to leave his native country to settle in Mecca since

he took part in the Sepoy-revolt against the British rule in 1857. He seems to have been a

well-known scholar and politician of his time, since he was apparently invited by Sultan

Abdlaziz to Istanbul around 1863-64/1280 AH and wrote him a treatise, titled Disclosure ofCorrectness (Izhr al-Haqq), where he criticized the growing European cultural influence on

the Turkish youth. During his stay in the capital he also contacted the Tunisian statesman

Khayr al-Dn Pasha, who was favouring a modernist Islamic attitude. Later, during the

Hamidian era, he revisited Istanbul in February-March 1884 and then in March-April 1887,

remaining in contact with Abdlhamid II.114

Shaikh Rahmatullah directed, until 1875, a small traditional Quranic school in Mecca. In

1875 he met a rich woman from Calcutta, Sawlat un-Nis Begum, who had come to Mecca toperform hajj. Sawlat Begum gave financial support to Shaykh Rahmatullah to found in 1875 a


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bigger school with a variety of courses. This first private primary school, called al-Madrasa

al-Sawlatiyya (The Sawlat-School), also received financial support from wealthy residents

of Mecca. Most of the teaching subjects were religious in character, but there were also

subjects such as writing, mathematics and algebra, history, and geography.115

This Madrasa al-Sawlatiyya was followed other schools in Mecca known asFakhriyya

Uthmniyya (Ottoman Glory School, 1879),Islmiyya (Islamic School, 1886), al-

Khariyya (Charity School, 1908) and al-Falh (Salvation School, 1911). From 1899

onwards private schools were set up in the porte town of Jiddah, namely al-ajh al-Ahliyya

(Success with Competence School, 1899), Abd al-Karm al-Tarblus(Abd al-Karim al-

Tarablusi School, 1902), al-Falh (Salvation School, 1905) and al-Islh (Correction

School, 1909). In Medina twelve private schools were opened.116

These institutions were financially supported by wealthy merchants, Indian Muslims and

also by incomes from local pious foundations. Most of these schools had the same educational

level as the Madrasa al-Sawlatiyya. Among these institutions only two schools in Mecca, i.e.

al-Falh and al-Khariyya, both opened after 1908, could be considered to some extent as

modern primary schools. In these schools courses such as Ottoman Turkish, drawing,

bookkeeping, hygiene were offered. When the al-ajh al-Ahliyya in Jiddah suffered from

financial crisis its founders applied to the Ottoman government for material support. The

government accepted this request, but under the condition that Ottoman Turkish would be

taught to the pupils.117

According to Ochsenwald it was the new wealthy but conservative stratum of merchants

who emerged in Mecca and Jiddah during the second half of the nineteenth century and did

support Indian Muslim initiatives to found numerous private primary schools. These private

schools were actually extended Quranic schools, enriched with some of the course subjects

offered by government ibtid-schools.The religious subjects were mostly taught within limits

of Sunni orthodoxy, without being influenced by Islamic modernism. However, practicalsubjects such as arithmetics and bookkeeping were offered at all of these schools. In that

sense these private primary schools w

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