Islamic Education in Egypt

Abstract

Islamic education in Egypt thrived during the seventh to tenth centuries when Islamic schools established both as primary kuttāb and subsequently advanced to al-Azhar system. Kuttāb as educational institutions emerged as natural, sponta- neous at grassroots level, often connected with a mosque, but also created by the community in a home, a shop, a tent, or under a palm tree. Islamic education was built around an individual rather than an institution, and this helped the spread of education in the Muslim world. While al-Azhar built by Ismā’ilī Shī’ite Fāṭimīds in Egypt to confront the hostile 'Abbāsīds of Baghdad, it ultimately held strong religious and political directions based on Sunnī Islam. Al-Azhar with its vast endowed residential facilities fostered training of generations of learned class of 'ulamā'. Female students had access to education where a series of facilities and classes were devoted to them. Driven from Islamic dogma, the al-Azhar developed the curriculum based on theology, grammar, and rhetoric through memorization, with the intention to foster a sense of religious obedience among students and to reinforce teachings of Sunnī Islam. The educational target is to achieve independent judgment on various issues concerning the Muslim society.