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Institutional Roots of Muslims’ Educational Choices in 19th Century Lebanon by Hania Abou al-Shamat

Institutional Roots of Muslims’ Educational Choices in 19th Century Lebanon by Hania Abou al-Shamat. Arab Region late-19 th century. Background: 19 th C. Educational reform and Expansion/ Modern Education Introduced

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Institutional Roots of Muslims’ Educational Choices in 19th Century Lebanon by Hania Abou al-Shamat

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  1. Institutional Roots of Muslims’ Educational Choices in 19th Century LebanonbyHania Abou al-Shamat

  2. Arab Region late-19th century • Background: 19th C. Educational reform and Expansion/ Modern Education Introduced • Puzzle: While Christians attended the new schools to receive modern education, Muslims continued to enroll in traditional Islamic schools

  3. Distribution of Population and Pupils by religious communities Year City % Population % Pupils Muslims Non-Muslims Muslims Non-Muslims 1882 Jerusalem 67 33 10 90 1882 Aleppo 78* 22* 21 79 1882 Beirut 31 57 21 79 1907 Egypt** 92 8 48 52 *Population percentages for Aleppo are for 1840s. ** Egypt here includes Sources: Bowring, John (1973). Report on the Commercial Statistics of Syria. New York: Arno Press, p. 3; Courbage, Youssef and Philippe Fargues (1997). Christians and Jews under Islam. (Translated by Judy Mabro). London: I.B.Tauris, p. 88; Diab, Henry and Lars Waehlin (1983). “The Geography of Education in Syria in 1882, with a Translation of ‘Education in Syria’ by Shahin Makarius, 1883.” Geografiska Annaler, 65 B, 2: P. 117, 120 & 121; Landau, Jacob (1969). Jews in 19th Century Egypt. New York: New York University Press, p. 6 & 72.

  4. Conventional Explanations I 1. Access to Missionaries: Genesis of Modern Education 2. Early Indigenous Christian Schools: Early attempts to spread new schools Counterarguments for 1 & 2: - Mainly Religious, basic education - Timing: why not pre-19th century? **Missing: Structural Changes in the Job-market

  5. Conventional Explanations II 3. ‘Ulema’s Resistance to Change: Vested Interests prevented change *Counterargument: - ‘Ulema divided front - Christian clergy resisted reform 4. State Neglect: curb Arab nationalism * Counterargument - Long history of private provision of education - Arab nationalism: cross religious trend According to 3 & 4: Islamic schools relied upon for elementary education ** Missing: Islamic schools were in demand

  6. Conventional Explanations III 5. Christians more prone to westernize (shared same religion); Muslims were defensive • Counterarguments: - Historical evidence: Christians equally put at defensive - Urgency to reform among Muslims ** Missing: Difference in institutions

  7. The Missing Element • Common Elements in conventional explanations - Top-down reform (lack of agency for individuals) - Supply side (necessary, not sufficient) • Missing: Demand for Education - Evidence of active demand - Quantitative & Qualitative impact on education • Focus on Demand (motives and incentives) • Challenges in capturing demand • Approach: reconstruct the job-market to derive skills needed

  8. Why 19th century Lebanon? • Geographic Area: Vilayet Beirut & Mount Lebanon • Leader in Educational Reform • Religious Diversity – compare and contrast educational choices • Job-market analysis extends to Egypt (migration effect)

  9. Lebanon Early 19th Century • Socio-economic structure: feudal • Social stratification: kinship and landownership • Limited Social mobility • Beirut: small city • Economy: mainly agricultural • Job-market - Administration: judges, scribers, bookkeepers, accountants - Education: religious - Judiciary: religious codes - Trade: internal - Education needed: basic and religious

  10. Factors Altering the Old job market • Socio-economic effects of the silk industry - Economy: silk cash crop, external trade - Socio-economic system: emergence of middle class - Social stratification: property, social mobility - Beirut: major port city - Job-market: External trade & New financial & Commercial services • Muslims’ absence from (Christian dominance over) external trade & new financial services

  11. Islamic Legal Institutions: Muslims’ Absence from (Christians’ dominance over) external Trade I Conventional explanations: Co-religion, and Europeans’ bias against Muslims Factors overlooked: 1. Islamic law: higher transaction cost - Individualistic (lack of collective entities, corporations) - Dominance of oral testimony (limited transactions’ longevity) - Europeans’ avoidance of Islamic law and courts

  12. Islamic Legal Institutions: Muslims’ Absence from (Christians’ dominance over) external Trade II 2. Legal Pluralism: Choice of law - Christians’ benefits from being Protégés - Supremacy of Islamic jurisdiction  lack of motives for the job Long Term (unintended) consequences 1. Statistical discrimination against Muslims 2. Lost opportunities to gain new skills

  13. Military Conscription • Measures of service: Muslims’ opposition • Exemption: - Fee payment - Attendance of Islamic Schools - Special occupations: civil servants, judges, muftis. • Consequence: 1. Increased demand for Islamic schools 2. Limited access to higher education

  14. Administration Expansion • Attractiveness: stability, social mobility, social status and power. • Pre-Tanzimat: - Administrative service restricted • Requirements: basic education, apprenticeship • Post-Tanzimat: - Specialization: Muslims (both ranks) Christians higher ranks - Requirements: lower ranks  basic education higher ranks  new education • Muslims  ‘Mixed’ education

  15. Parallel Institutions Courts Schools Old Education: Islamic schools, public schools, private tutoring, private Islamic new schools New Education: Foreign, missionary, Christian private schools, private tutoring Three types of courts: 1. Shari’a: Islamic education 2. Nizamiyyeh (later national): old and new education 3. Mixed: new education

  16. Summary • A network of institutions rewarded Islamic education and maintained its demand by: - Directly increasing demand for old education - Preserving the old job market, the arena for graduates of the Islamic schools - Creating new jobs whose required skills were met by Islamic education - Preventing new job opportunities that feedback on new education

  17. Women’s Education • Marriage institution - Emigration & civil strive 1860 1. Tightened marriage market for Christians 2. Increased competition - Christians undergoing westernization - Education as social investment and positional good • Job Market - female workers in silk factories: altering patriarchal authority - mechanization: challenging traditional female jobs - Migration and civil strife: women left behind bread winners - Education as economic investment (mainly captured by missionaries)

  18. Rhetoric in Muslims’ Newspapers • Thamara>t al-Funu>n (1870s) criticizing quality of kuttabs and madrasas, praising quality of Christians’ schools, calling for modern education for the Muslims • al-Fajr al-S}a>diq (1879): declining conditions of Muslim schools (Compared to Christians’) • al-Mana>r, Rashi>dRid}a> (1890s): called upon Muslims to learn from the Syrian Protestant College example of modern education

  19. Two Potential Routes to Provide new education among Muslims 1. Reform of Islamic schools: Study effect of waqf institution on Islamic education 2. Establish new schools: Compare to Christian schools to detect problems faced

  20. Reform of Islamic schools • Effects of waqf: Static perpetuity, evidence of change B. Approach: Analyze system’s structure, agents’ incentives to change. Agents of change: qadis (judges), muftis (jurisconsults), and teachers C. Findings: Large scale reform hindered by: (1) Individualistic structure of Islamic institutions confined frequency & scale of change (2) legitimacy within Islamic Institutions held reform to what existed/discouraged innovation

  21. Founding new schools in the 19th century Approach: Compare Muslim & Christian schools Findings: • Limited incentives to found new charitable waqfs (2) Lack of Collective Legal entity  Limited resource pooling (3) lack of central management  lack of flexibility

  22. Contributions I 1. New approach to revisit an old puzzle - Shifting focus to the individual by analyzing demand - Linking demand and supply to a network of institutions • Comprehensive two-sided explanation: - At the demand side, a set of institutions kept Islamic education (Journal of Islamic Studies 20, 3 (2009): 317-351) - At the supply side, institutions hindered Muslims’ ability for resource pooling (Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, under submission)

  23. Contributions II • Transplanted institution does not guarantee internal demand. Institutional networks shape the dynamics of institutional transplant (Policy implication: reform comes in packages) 4. Framework of analysis useful in addressing current issues in the Arab world

  24. Reframe Institutional Transplant • Determinants of successful transplant - Competitiveness of transplanted institution - Compatibility with indigenous culture - Origin of transplanted institution - Process of the transplant - lock-in effect cause of institutional stagnation • Implications - Efficacious institutions will take over (not necessary) • Missing: - Indigenous Demand for the transplanted institution - Role complementary institutions play

  25. Effects of Legal Transplant • “The Effects of Legal Reform on Muslims’ Commercial and Financial Performance in Egypt, 1883-1949,” Islamic Law and Society, forthcoming • Conclusion: legal change necessary, not sufficient - Complementary changes needed - Socio-economic and political context

  26. Islamic Schools in Arab and Islamic World • Recommendations: invest in modern schools in the area • Overlooked is internal demand and he complementary institutions that support it • Example: Islamic schools in Lebanon/Egypt

  27. Old education New education do dn Do Dn Old job market New job market Do: Old Job market skills demand Dn: New job market skills demand do: individual’s demand for old education dn: individual’s demand for new education

  28. Locality Schools Students population Beirut 101 12 452 Mount Lebanon 190 5 850 Tripoli 15 1 152 Sayda 15 887 Sur 10 520 Baalbek 5 433 Schools and Students in various parts of Lebanon in 1882 Source: Henry Diab and Lars Waehlin, “The Geography of Education in Syria in 1882, with a Translation of ‘Education in Syria’ by Shahin Makarius, 1883” Geografiska Annaler 65 B, 2 (1983): 126.

  29. Christians external trade New financial services Administration: top ranks Teachers: indigenous Christian and missionary schools Liberal professions Need for new education Muslims internal trade Old financial services Administration: all ranks Teachers: Public and Religious Schools Old education suffices Christians’ and Muslims’ Reactions

  30. Education Providers • Old Religious Schools: Madrasas, Kuttabs, Dayrs • New Indigenous Schools (by sects) • Missionary Schools • Public Schools • Private Tutors

  31. Islamic Schools Madrasa: Higher education • Origin:Formal 11th century due to: expansion of Islamic state (need to systematize Islamic law). Number of students increased ---> Khans. To ensure full time students ---> waqfs to provide for their living and accommodation • Form and shape affected by: - Traditionalist-rationalist/ Shiite-Sunni struggle - Job market needs: expanding administration + judicial needs ---> Law and its sciences - 19th century: private, waqf supported, small, founder-teacher

  32. Elementary Schools • Muslims: Kuttabs: Elementary education - mainly informal - Expansion due to job market demand - Waqf-founded kuttabs for poor and orphans - 19th-20th century kuttabs • Christians: Dayrs - informal, basic education - more formal at higher education, after church’s reform

  33. Education Providers • Religious schools: - Madrasas: • ajhflahf

  34. Thesis • While supply of new schools was necessary for educational modernization, it was not sufficient. A matching demand had to coexist for educational modernization to take place. The relative efficiency of the new schools was not enough to create internal demand. A network of institutions shaped Muslims’ demand for old education and kept it from changing.

  35. Pre-19th century Administration: judges, scribers, bookkeepers, accountants Education: religious Judiciary: religious codes Trade: internal Educational needs: basic and religious Since 19th century Enlarged administration Education: foreign, missionary, public Judiciary: new ‘secular’ courts Trade: external trade expanding Educational needs: basic, higher, ‘secular’ Job Market: Structure and Changes

  36. Christians External trade New financial services Administration: top ranks Teachers: indigenous Christian and missionary schools Liberal professions Need for new education Muslims Internal trade Old financial services Administration: all ranks Teachers: Public and Religious Schools Old education suffices Christians’ and Muslims’ Responses

  37. Number of students in Maronite schools by year School Year Number of students ‘Ain Waraqa 1736 8 ‘Ain Waraqa 1858 100 Mar Maroun ~1810 10 Rayfoun ~1810 10 Each of top 4 schools 1844 25 All top 5 schools 1884 177 Source: Iliya Harik, Politics and Change in a Traditional Society Lebanon, 1711-1845. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1968. P. 164-165; Salamah, Bashir. Al-Ta’adud al-Madrasi wa Takawwun al-Mujtama’ al-Ta’ifi” ??

  38. Graduates from two Maronite schools School Years Number of Graduates Number of Years Graduates per year ‘Ain Waraqa 1789-1818 50 29 1.7 Kfayfan 1808-1874 260 66 3.9 Source: Iliya Harik, Politics and Change in a Traditional Society Lebanon, 1711-1845. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1968. P. 164-165

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