MOHAMMEDAN EDUCATION
=Literature.=--_Warner_, Library of the World's Best Literature (see
article on the Koran); _Johonnot_, Geographical Reader; _Lane-Poole_,
Story of the Moors in Spain; _Lord_, Beacon Lights of History;
_Thalheimer_, Mediaeval and Modern History; _Stille_, Studies in
Mediaeval History; _Irving_, Mahomet and his Successors; _Church_, The
Beginnings of the Middle Ages; _Andrews_, Institutes of General History;
_White_, Eighteen Christian Centuries; _Myers_, Mediaeval and Modern
History; _Mombert_, Great Lives; _Clarke_, Ten Great Religions;
_Ferris_, Great Leaders; _Laurie_, Rise of the Universities; _Walker,
John Brisben_, The Building of an Empire ("Cosmopolitan," Feb.-Sept.,
1899); "North American Review," Vol. 171, p. 754.
We have thus far described the work of Christian education. Parallel
with this and almost entirely independent of it grew the educational
work of the Moslems. This was a very important movement most valuable to
civilization.
=History of Mohammedanism.=--Mohammedanism dates from the time of the
Hegira, or flight of Mohammed from Mecca, A.D. 622. From this
date Moslems reckon their time, as the Christian world reckons from the
birth of Christ. Mohammed first appeared as prophet when forty years of
age. The religion of the Arabs was a most degraded one, and there was
great need of the reformation which Mohammed undertook. The prophet was
not well received at first, and, being obliged to flee from Mecca, he
retired to a cave at Medina, where he meditated and studied. It was
during this retirement that he wrote the Koran, the Bible of the
Mohammedans. He claimed that the angel Gabriel appeared to him, giving
him a new revelation, which was more significant than that of the
Christians. Indeed, these so-called revelations were strangely suited to
the varying ambition of the founder of this religion. The Koran teaches
that as Jesus was greater than Moses, so Mohammed was greater than
Jesus.
There is no doubt that the new religion was an improvement upon the
degraded form of worship that Mohammed found among the Arabs, or that in
the beginning of his activity he did much to purify and elevate his
people. But as he gained great numbers of adherents, and as he acquired
power, Mohammed became a warrior, and attempted by the sword to compel
belief in his doctrines. Moslemism met with such wonderful success that
already, during the life of Mohammed, all Arabia was conquered to this
belief, while his successors spread his teachings into northern Africa,
western Asia, Spain, and Turkey. They carried their triumphant arms into
France, until they were checked by Charles Martel; they overran Austria
and threatened the complete subjugation of southeastern Europe, until
John Sobieski dealt them a crushing blow before the gates of Vienna, and
forever destroyed their ambition for northern conquest; they occupied
Spain for seven hundred years, and still retain Turkey as their sole
European possession; they have extended their power over many parts of
Asia and Africa, until now they number about two hundred million souls.
The five chief Moslem precepts are:--
1. Confession of the unity of God. "There is one God, and Mohammed is
his prophet."
2. Stated prayer.
3. Almsgiving.
4. The fast of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Mohammedan year.
5. Observance of the festival of Mecca. Every Moslem is expected to make
a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his lifetime.
=Education.=--When Mohammedanism became secure in its power, it turned
its attention to education. The successors of Mohammed were called
caliphs, and the caliphs of Bagdad and Cordova rivaled each other in
fostering learning. Schools were established in all large Moslem cities
and in many smaller towns. Their scholars translated the works of
Aristotle and other Greek authors. They taught mathematics, astronomy,
philosophy, and grammar. They originated the science of chemistry, and
made great advances in the study of algebra and trigonometry. They also
measured the earth, and made catalogues of the stars. Every branch of
knowledge was studied, and students were attracted from all parts of
Europe to their schools, especially to Cordova.
Students lived in colleges with the professors, and there was an
atmosphere of culture and investigation not equaled in any of the
Christian universities of the Middle Ages.
Spain reached the summit of Moslem education during the reign of King
Hakem III. (961-976). This king fostered education, being himself a man
of learning. He had a private library of six hundred thousand volumes.
Education was not confined simply to the higher schools and
universities. There were also a great many elementary schools. The first
work of these was to teach the Koran, which was used as a reading book.
The Koran gives us the most perfect picture of the oriental mind that we
possess. Children of the poor attended school from their fifth till
their eighth year, when they were allowed to go to service. Children of
the rich entered school at their fifth year and remained till their
fourteenth or fifteenth year. After that, if parents could afford it,
boys traveled until their twentieth year, under care of a tutor. This
completed their education. Any person could teach who chose to do so, no
authority fixing the qualifications of teachers.
The Mohammedan schools began to decline in the eleventh century. At the
present time, but little attention is paid to education in any of the
countries under the sway of Islam.
GENERAL SUMMARY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS DURING THE MIDDLE AGES
1. Paganism gave way to Christianity, and the benign influence of the
latter began to be felt in the recognition of the importance of the
individual.
2. The Church undertook the direction of education, which, though
necessarily limited chiefly to the ecclesiastics, had also a great
influence upon the masses at large.
3. The Church Fathers were the leaders in intellectual as well as in
spiritual matters, while monks and priests were the principal teachers.
4. The monasteries were the centers of educational activity, both in
fostering scholarship and in preserving classic literature.
5. Secular courses of study were established, the most important being
the "seven liberal arts."
6. Education was based on authority, and free investigation found but
little encouragement, except among the scholastics.
7. The State assumed no part in the training of the young. Charlemagne's
educational work is an exception to this rule. He asserted the
prerogative of the State to control education, recognized the necessity
of universal education, and the principle of compulsory attendance.
8. The crusades checked the growth of feudalism, aroused the
intellectual as well as the spiritual energies of the people, led to a
broader conception of man's duty to his fellow-man, and prepared the way
for greater religious and political freedom.
9. As an important result of the stimulated educational activity, both
among Christians and Mohammedans, many universities were founded.
10. "The Middle Ages," says Emerson, "gave us decimal numbers,
gunpowder, glass, chemistry, and gothic architecture, and their
paintings are the delight and tuition of our age."[49]
FOOTNOTES:
[49] Emerson, Progress of Culture in "Letters and Social Aims," p. 204.
Boston, 1895.