Figure 1.--This boy is being held in a madrassa as if he were a slave, although he is not legally a slave. We do not have any further information about the boy or know where the photograph was taken. We assume it came from an Islamicist site and things we find there which seem to appeal to faithful are difficult for Westerners to understand or see in a positive light. Click on the image to see a view of sharia law from an Iranian site. The reader who sent us this image has a different take on this image. He writes, "There are some Islamic groups, based in non-Islamic countries, that are critical with their tradition. For example, I have read on an Italian Islamic blog, that the Wahabites, to which belongs the Saudi family, are 'heretics' and 'fanatics'. Perhaps the photograph here comes from one of these groups. The photo is on several sites, but the source is not mentioned."

An important educational institution in the Muslim world is the madrassa. We note a range of English spellings: madrrasa, madrasah, medera, meddrassa, and other similar alternatives. The first madrasas were founded by the Marinid sultans, during the 14th century. This was at a gtime when there were no public schools in the modern sence of tuition free schools open to the general public. They were Islamic colleges with boarding facilities. The curriculum was heavily based on the stdy of Islam through the Koran. Students are required to memorize long passages of the Koran. The curriculum also included the Arabic language, astronomy, mathematics and medicine. At the time they were founded, the madrsas were the most advanced education institutions in the Western world. Presumably China also had avanced schools, but Euopean education was still very rudimentary. The medersas throughout the Arab world were generally constructed along the same lines. They were constructed on two levels around a central courtyard which had a fountain that was used in ritual ablutions. The courtyard was surrounded by a colonnade or gallery. THere was a large room served as both a lecture hall and for prayers. The students had their living areas or cells (in the sence of a monastic cell) were mostly located on the upper level. The importanceof the medersas in the Arab world can be seen in the beautiful architecture. They were also decorated with magnificent art work, including carved wood, geometric designs and floral motifs and delicate lace-like plaster-work. Unlike art in the Christian world, depictions of the human form were discouraged. The puplils, despite their magnificent surroundings, lived in stark simplicity. There cells were dark and often damp. They studied, prepared their meals, and slept in these small cells. The madrsas provided the cells and bread without harge to the pupils. They had to buy the rest of their food and supplies such as books. Those without afflunt parents had to work part time. Some worked as as lecturers in mosques. Others woked as servants in surrounding homes. The madrasa has evolved in our modern age to be an important part of the educational system in some countries, especially Pakistan. This is the case where the public school system is weak and poor parents have to turn to the mosque to assist with education.

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Created: 5:30 AM 8/23/2011
Last updated: 5:30 AM 8/23/2011