Medieval madrasa

Issue 16 of Medieval World: Culture & Conflict, explored aspects of education and learning in the Middle Ages, including an article by Gary Leiser on "Medieval Islamic education: The rise of colleges of law" (pp. 34-39). In the Islamic context, colleges of law were called madrasas. These places of learning defined what it meant to be a Muslim and Islamic civilization itself. But there were a few other interesting facets to these educational centers - learn about them below.

By Gary Leiser

Did you know, that although the evolution of the madrasa from the masjid-khan complex is most likely, other origins of the madrasa have been proposed. Because it first appeared in the eastern part of the Islamic realm, some scholars have tried to show that it was inspired by Buddhist monasteries in Central Asia or that it derived from the Turkish muyanliq (a charitable fortified hospice, or ribat in Arabic), also in Central Asia. Others have suggested that it was stimulated by the growth of libraries.

The madrasa-college and the college of the Medieval West were essentially one and the same type of institution. There are two reasons to believe that the medieval West borrowed the madrasa from Islam. One is the law of waqf or charitable trust and the other is the internal organization of the college. The prototype for the Western college established as a charitable trust was the madrasa which predated it by some time. The internal organization of the two was also the same as notably shown by the Western adoption of the scholastic method. The focus of instruction on religious topics was the same. Their governance and management were similar. Below the position of mudarris, the ranks of Koran reader, Tradition expert, and grammarian paralleled those of reader, lecturer, and instructor in the West. Both institutions had fellows (sahib or socius, an exact translation of the Arabic), and scholars. The position held by those who were considered to have reached the pinnacle of knowledge in Islam was that of mufti; in the West, that of magister. The mufti, like a doctor, could express authoritative opinions.

Madrasas could serve various political purposes. In twelfth-century Egypt, they were often used by their founders to patronize the Sunni religious class and exercise some influence over it because of their control over the subject matter, and the handsome salaries given to professors. In Anatolia during and after the same period, endowments of the colleges were almost always composed of conquered Christian property or land, sometimes whole villages, the revenue from which supported the colleges. These endowments reduced the wealth of the Church and its ability to function. By directing Christian wealth towards madrasas, such endowments compelled Christians to strengthen Islam and help bring about their own Islamization. 

Learn more about these fascinating places of learning in the Islamic context through Gary Leiser's article in MWCC.16!