The Shi‘ite ‘ulama' the madrasas, and Educational Reform in the Late Ottoman Period

Year 2010, Volume: 36 Issue: 36, 157 - 185, 01.12.2010

Rula Jurdi Abisaab

Abstract

Jabal ‘Amil’s history is associated with renowned Shi‘ite madrasas (schools) and illustrious jurists who left their mark on the history of Twelver Shi‘ite law and jurisprudence. Jabal ‘Amil was part of the coastal range of Syria that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to Jabal al-Shaykh in the east and from Jabal al-Rihan in the north to Jabal al-Karmil in the south.1 Jabal ‘Amil was shared during the Ottoman period by two governorships, namely, the sancak (region) of Sidon-Beirut which covered the northern districts and the sancak of Safad which covered the southern districts. Both belonged to the eyalet (province) of Damascus.2 This study throws light on the socio-economic conditions in Jabal ‘Amil during the late Ottoman period, the complex relations of its Shi‘ite ‘ulama’ to the state, and their approaches to Ottoman educational modernism.

Keywords

Shi‘ite, madrasas, Jabal