Islam, a challenge to faith; studies on the Mohammedan religion and the needs and opportunities of the Mohammedan world from the standpoint of Christian missions . ty-five to one hundred per cent,of the Moslems in Africa are unable to read or Tripoli ninety per cent, are illiterate; in Egypt, eighty-eight per cent.; in Algiers, over ninety per cent.^ InTurkey conditions have greatly improved and illiteracy isnot above forty per cent., while of women it is estimatedas under sixty per cent. Among the Kurds and Circas-sians illiteracv is more prevalent.^ In Arabia there hasbeen scant int
Islam, a challenge to faith; studies on the Mohammedan religion and the needs and opportunities of the Mohammedan world from the standpoint of Christian missions . ty-five to one hundred per cent,of the Moslems in Africa are unable to read or Tripoli ninety per cent, are illiterate; in Egypt, eighty-eight per cent.; in Algiers, over ninety per cent.^ InTurkey conditions have greatly improved and illiteracy isnot above forty per cent., while of women it is estimatedas under sixty per cent. Among the Kurds and Circas-sians illiteracv is more prevalent.^ In Arabia there hasbeen scant intellectual progress since the Time of Igno-rance, before Mohammed, when the tribes used to gatherat Okatz to compete in poetry and eloquence. TheBedouins are nearly all illiterate, and in spite of theWahabi revival and the attempt of Turkish officials toopen schools, there is little that deserves the name of edu- niarlji Khan, With the Pilgrims to Mecca: The Great Pilgrimage ofA. H. 1319 (A. D. 1902), 306308. *The Mohammedan World of To-day, 284; and Statistical Tables also,33- «Anatolicns in article on Islam in Turkey, in The MohammedanWorld of To-day, PRESENT CONDITION OF MOSLEM WORLD \^J cation, even in the large towns.^ The system of educa-tion at Mecca is typical of that in all Moslem lands notyet influenced by Western civilization and youth learn to read the Koran, not to understand itsmeaning, but to drone it out professionally at funeralsand feasts, so many chapters for so many shekels. Mod-ern science or history are not even mentioned, much lesstaught, at even the high-schools of Mecca. Grammar,prosody, caligraphy, Arabian history and the first ele-ments of arithmetic, but chiefly the Koran commentariesand traditions, traditions, traditions, form the curriculumof the Mohammedan college. Those who desire a post-graduate course devote themselves to mysticism(Tassawaf), or join an order of Derwishes, all of whomhave their representative sheikhs at Mec
Size: 1264px × 1977px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublishern, booksubjectislam
