Reflections On Educational Transitions In Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey

Abstract

The historical intercultural encounters between Islam and the West in the Middle East have intrigued numerous historians, political theorists, anthropologists and sociologists. Within this context, one of the most debated topics has been the actual infl uences of Westernisation on the Islamic World and the actions and reactions of the Islamic World during the periods of intense Westernisation. Education was a key element of the traditional Islamic societies that underwent dramatic change. Alongside its vital role of training new generations of Islamic intellectuals, education was of major importance in the process of spreading new ideologies that accompanied the modernisation of Middle Eastern societies, and in particular, in the emergence of Islamic national movements.