cational travel was recognized early in Islamic
history, as expressed in a well-known hadith that
commanded, “Seek knowledge, even unto China.”
Indeed, the Arabic word for student is talib, which
literally means “seeker.” Traditions and practices
of learning, therefore, contributed to the creation
of a cosmopolitan Islam that transcended local
geographic, ethnic, and cultural boundaries.
Today the medieval Islamic tradition of learn-
ing has been largely displaced by modern systems
of education and knowledge. Survivals of the
past can still be found, but in fragmented and
altered forms. This transformation was caused by
several significant developments. It started when
far-reaching educational reforms were introduced
during the 19th century as a result of European
invasions of Muslim lands in eastern Europe,
the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.
Muslim rulers realized that they had to create
modern armies that could stand up to those of
Europe and reform governmental institutions to
make them operate more effectively than in the
past. They recruited advisers and teachers from
Europe to open modern schools based on Western
knowledge, and they sent delegations to study in
Europe. With the new schools came the printing
press to produce books and other instructional
materials in European languages. Arabic ceased
to be the universal language of learning; it was
replaced by French and English and later by local
languages, such as Turkish in t
Urkey
and Persian
in Iran. European ideas about democracy, free-
dom, nationalism, capitalism, liberalism, social-
ism, fascism, and
secUlarism
were introduced to
Muslim lands along with the new schools and
languages.
The first Western-style schools were opened in
Istanbul, Cairo, and Tunis. Graduates went on to
serve as officers, doctors, engineers, and govern-
ment officials. They were in the forefront of mod-
ernizing Middle Eastern and North African states,
forming what scholars have called “bridgehead
elites” for European powers. By the middle of the
19th century, ministries of education were created
to operate centralized school systems based on
French models. When the Republic of Turkey was
created in 1923, all Islamic schools there were
closed down. In India, educational reform was
introduced by British colonial authorities, because
they needed literate, skilled natives to help govern
the country and serve in the army. Their larger
goal was to transform India into a modern, lib-
eral country like England. Indians, they believed,
would have to shed their own cultural heritage
in the process, which aroused strong anticolonial
nationalist feelings among the Indians.
Christian missionaries arrived from Europe
to found schools that offered education in mod-
ern subjects in l
ebanon
, p
alestine
, s
yria
, and
e
gypt
. These schools were attended by Muslims
and Jews as well as Christians. At Catholic mis-
sionary schools, the language of instruction was
usually French, and all students were required
to attend Mass, whether they were Christians or
not. Muslims also attended schools established by
American Protestants and Russian Orthodox mis-
sionaries. In some of these schools, speaking Ara-
bic was discouraged if not completely forbidden.
Other schools, such as the American University of
Beirut, founded by Protestant missionaries from
the United States, have played a significant role in
the modern Arabic literary renaissance.
Reform-minded Muslims responded to the
creation of schools based on European models
and Christian missionary influence by devising
models that combined Western with Islamic learn-
ing. These efforts were spearheaded by Muslim
modernists such as s
ayyid
a
hmad
k
han
(d. 1898)
in India and J
amal
al
-d
in
al
-a
Fghani
(d. 1897)
and m
Uhammad
a
bdUh
(d. 1905) in the Arab
Middle East. The reformed curricula emphasized
modern letters and sciences. The study of Islam
or the Quran was no longer dominant but altered
to fit with the teaching of secular subjects such as
history, literature, and “religion.” With the emer-
gence of new nation-states in the 20th century,
secular education prevailed in the public schools
and universities of most Muslim countries. School
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