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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