Kuttab

A kuttab ( ''kuttāb'', plural: ''kataatiib'', ) or maktab () is a type of elementary school in the Muslim world. Though the ''kuttab'' was primarily used for teaching children in reading, writing, grammar, and Islamic studies, such as memorizing and reciting the Qur'an (including ''Qira'at''), other practical and theoretical subjects were also often taught. The kuttāb represents an old-fashioned method of education in Muslim majority countries, in which a sheikh teaches a group of students who sit in front of him on the ground. Until the 20th century, when modern schools developed, kuttabs were the prevalent means of mass education in much of the Islamic world.

Name

Kuttab refers to only elementary schools in Arabic. This institution can also be called a ''maktab'' () or ''maktaba'' () in Arabic—with many transliterations. In common Modern Standard Arabic usage, ''maktab'' means "office" while ''maktabah'' means "library" or "(place of) study" and ''kuttāb'' is a plural word meaning "Books".

In Morocco, this institution can be referred to as a ''m'siid'' (). In Persian, it is a or ''Maktabkhaneh'' . In Turkish the institution is called a ''mektep''. ''Maktab'' is used in Dari Persian in Afghanistan as an equivalent term to school, including both primary and secondary schools. In Bosnian, it is called a ''mejtef'' or ''mekteb.''

History

In the medieval Islamic world, an elementary school was known as a ''maktab'', which dates back to at least the tenth century. Like madrasas (which referred to higher education), a ''maktab'' was often attached to a mosque. In the 16th century, the Sunni Islamic jurist Ibn Hajar al-Haytami discussed ''maktab'' schools. In response to a petition from a retired Shia Islamic judge who ran a ''Madhab'' elementary school for orphans, al-Haytami issues a fatwa outlining a structure of ''maktab'' education that prevented any physical or economic exploitation of enrolled orphans.

In the 11th century, the famous Persian Islamic philosopher and teacher, Ibn Sina (known as ''Avicenna'' in the West), in one of his books, wrote a chapter dealing with the ''maktab'' entitled "The Role of the Teacher in the Training and Upbringing of Children", as a guide to teachers working at ''maktab'' schools. He wrote that children can learn better if taught in classes instead of individual tuition from private tutors, and he gave a number of reasons for why this is the case, citing the value of competition and emulation among pupils as well as the usefulness of group discussions and debates. Ibn Sina described the curriculum of a ''maktab'' school in some detail, describing the curricula for two stages of education in a ''maktab'' school.

Primary education

Ibn Sina wrote that children should be sent to a ''maktab'' school from the age of 6 and be taught primary education until they reach the age of 14. During which time, he wrote that they should be taught the Qur'an, Islamic metaphysics, language, literature, Islamic ethics, and manual skills (which could refer to a variety of practical skills).

Secondary education

Ibn Sina refers to the secondary education stage of ''maktab'' schooling as the period of specialization, when pupils should begin to acquire manual skills, regardless of their social status. He writes that children after the age of 14 should be given a choice to choose and specialize in subjects they have an interest in, whether it was reading, manual skills, literature, preaching, medicine, geometry, trade and commerce, craftsmanship, or any other subject or profession they would be interested in pursuing for a future career. He wrote that this was a transitional stage and that there needs to be flexibility regarding the age in which pupils graduate, as the student's emotional development and chosen subjects need to be taken into account.

Literacy

In medieval times, the Caliphate experienced a growth in literacy, having the highest literacy rate of the Middle Ages, comparable to classical Athens' literacy in antiquity. The emergence of the ''maktab'' and madrasa institutions played a fundamental role in the relatively high literacy rates of the medieval Islamic world.

Architecture

In many regions of the Islamic world, kuttabs were historically built as part of religious and charitable complexes sponsored by rulers or local elites. In Egypt – especially Cairo – kuttabs were often paired with sabils (kiosks dispensing water to the public). They usually consisted of a room built above the sabil. These "sabil-kuttabs" were a common feature of the architectural complexes in Mamluk architecture and subsequent Ottoman Egyptian architecture. In Ottoman architecture, the ''mektep'' or ''sibyan mektebi'' (both Turkish terms for the kuttab/maktab) was a recurring element of ''külliye''s or religious complexes. In Istanbul, ''mektep''s were included in the Fatih Mosque complex, the Süleymaniye complex, the Atik Valide Mosque complex, the Yeni Valide Mosque complex, among many other examples. In Morocco, an ''m'sid'' (the local term for a kuttab) was included in some charitable complexes such as those of the Bab Doukkala Mosque and the Mouassine Mosque, both built in Marrakesh by the Saadi dynasty.
File:Cairo, moschea di al-ghouri, 03.JPG, A kuttab (above) and a sabil (below) at the Funerary complex of al-Ghuri in Cairo, Egypt
File:Mektep of the Suleymaniye complex DSCF3416.jpg, ''Mektep'' building at the Süleymaniye complex in Istanbul, Turkey

References

Maktab
Encyclopædia Britannica

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Arabic words and phrases
Islamic schools
Islamic terminology
Dhikr
Islamic education