Chapter 10
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Zaytuna
Mosque, one of the great centers of Islamic studies I North Africa, has been in
existence since its initial construction in 732. This mosque has been ranked by
many as the second largest center of Islamic studies in that region. Yet there
has been little written on this mosque concerning its reformation and
secularization. The factors which influenced this reformation and
secularization are often under emphasized or not identified. There have been few
who have examined the affect that the introduction of modern ideas in Tunisia
has had on this traditional center of Islamic studies. This lack of information
on the secularization and reformation of Zaytuna University elicited the research
and writing of this dissertation.
In
obtaining the information for this dissertation, the writer consulted various
materials during a nine month period he was in Tunis, Tunisia. During that
period information concerning Zaytuna and the factors which affected its reformation
and secularization was obtained from reports, journals, interviews, and Arabic
and French newspapers and books.
During
the structural history of Zaytuna Mosque, it was the site for the propagation
of various philosophies and beliefs. Two significant beliefs which played a
role in the educational emphasis at Zaytuna were those of the Shicites and the
Sunnites. The Sunnites were the most dominate during Zaytuna's history; but it
seems reasonable to assume that during the Fatimide rule in Tunisia during the
10th century, the Shiites made efforts to propagate their dogmas at Zaytuna.
Of the
Sunnites' four legal rites, the Malikite rite and the Hanafite rite were the
most prevalent in Tunisia and at Zaytuna; of these two, the Malikite rite had
the greatest number of Tunisian followers. The Malikite rite became prevalent
during the Almoravid and Almohad dynasties in the 12th century, and it seemed
to maintain this position during the entire history covered in this
dissertation. The Hanafite rite came into importance at the beginning of the
Ottoman rule in the 16th century. The importance of the Hanafite rite was
maintained by the Beys of Tunisia. As a result of this emphasis on these two
legal rites, Zaytuna maintained a fairly equal number of professors on its staff
from both rites during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Zaytuna
was influenced in the development of its educational approach by the various
dynasties who ruled in Tunisia. The exact way that each of the dynasties
contributed to this development isn't clear from historical accounts, but
certain assumptions can be made from the available information. It can be
stated that the Umayyad dynasty, being the dynasty which initially constructed
Zaytuna, was the first ruling dynasty to use Zaytuna for the propagation of
Islamic beliefs. The role of Zaytuna during the Fatimide rule, as well as the effect
of the Malikite rite on Zaytuna during the Almohad and Almoravid dynasties has
already been mentioned. There is evidence to support the assumption that
Zaytuna increased in importance during the Hilalian rule as a result of the
Hilalian's emphasis on Arabic. During the Hafsid rule in the 13th century,
Zaytuna became very important. This resulted when the Hafsid rulers moved the
capital from Qayrawan to Tunis; this action caused the great Islamic scholars
to conjugate around Zaytuna in Tunis instead of remaining in Qayrawln. At that
time Zaytuna became a chief center of Islamic studies in North Africa.
However
in the 14th century, Ibn Khaldun noted that the educational system of
Tunisia—which included Zaytuna—was in a state of decline. He mentioned in his
writings that the teachers were not following good teaching methods and this
was creating problems in the students' comprehension of the material being
presented. Ibn Khaldun proposed methods for the improvement of the educational
system, but these methods weren't followed. .One interesting observation
concerning these proposals is that they had many similarities to portions of
the Decree of December 26, 1875, which was a major reform decree affecting Zaytuna.
Ahmad
Bey was the first Bey to bring significant reform to Zaytuna. In 1842 Ahmad
issued a decree which organized Zaytuna under an administrative and inspective
body. This decree also gave equal importance to the teaching of the principles
of both the Malikite and Hanafite legal rites. This equal emphasis was
accomplished by establishing a 30 professor staff with 15 professors from each
legal rite.
There
were various decrees issued during the 19th and 20th centuries which
directly or indirectly affected Zaytuna. Of all these decrees which were issued
during this period, the Decree of December 26, 1875, the Decree of September
16, 1912, and the Decree of March 30, 1933 were the most extensive and of
particular significance in increasing governmental control over Zaytuna, in
reforming its curriculum and administrative staff, and in perpetuating the
strong Islamic emphasis at this institution. These three decrees identified the
organization that would administer the inspection of Zaytuna's educational
system, specified the examinations and the time that these examinations would be
given, and stipulated the regulations students and teachers would be required
to follow. In the Decrees of 1875 and 1912, the works to be studied were
specified. The works were generally centuries old; there were few works of
contemporary writers like at-Tahir Ibn Ashur. These three decrees emphasized
Zaytuna's role as a place for the study of Islamic principles, jurisprudence,
and the Arabic language. Yet despite the demands of the students, professors,
and citizens, these three decrees failed to introduce, to any great degree,
modern science courses. These courses were usually lost in a sea of Islamic and
Arabic courses.
One
significant success of the three major decrees was an increase in governmental
control over Zaytuna. These decrees, and especially the Decree of March 30,
1933, made the governing officials of Zaytuna directly responsible to the Prime
Minister. The Decree of March 1933 more strongly supported government control
over Zaytuna than the other two major decrees because by 1933 the position of
Shaykh-Director had been established, and he was made responsible to the Prime
Minister rather than the nizara, a group of administrators. This single head of
Zaytuna's educational system made it possible for the government to more strongly
enforce its desires.
As a result
of the reforms which took place at Zaytuna, Zaytuna not only entered a period
of reformation, but also a period of secularization. The reformation was
manifested by the various decrees which were issued affecting Zaytuna. The
secularization revealed itself by the increased governmental control of Zaytuna
and the increase—though small—in the number of secular subjects which were
taught at Zaytuna.
In
addition to the decrees which directly affected Zaytuna, there were other
factors which indirectly affected it. The establishment and increase of
European schools in Tunisia brought reform to Zaytuna by stimulating Muslim
youth to desire the introduction of modern science subjects at Zaytuna. The^se
Muslim students had become familiar with the European languages and modern
sciences at the European schools.
Besides
the reforms which came to Zaytuna as a result of the European schools, there
were two Muslim schools which affected Zaytuna; Sadiqiyyah and Khalduniyyah.
These two schools presented a curriculum which combined the modern sciences
with Islamic studies to those Zaytuna students who attended. This led to student
dissatisfaction with the traditional education at Zaytuna and a desire for
reform. This dissatisfaction caused student strikes and demonstrations. Of particular
importance is the strike of 1910. This strike, which was also influenced by the
success of a student strike at Al-Azhar in 1909, was the students' first
attempt to force reform at Zaytuna. After the strike of 1910, other strikes
followed in 1924 and 1929. These student strikes demanded reform of the
administrative body of Zaytuna (the nizara) and modernization of the courses at
Zaytuna so that Zaytuna could enter the realm of modern education and better
prepare its students for the available jobs in developing Tunisia—this lack of
jobs for Zaytuna students because of their limited education was a chief source
of student agitation in the 1920*s and 1930's.
Among
the reformists who affected the education at Zaytuna, two reformists should
receive particular attention; Shaykh Muhammad Abduh and Shaykh at-Tahir Ibn Ashur.
Neither Shaykh Abduh nor Shaykh Ibn Ashur were successful in all their reform
desires for Islamic education; but through their speeches and writings, they
motivated both students and professors to seek reform. Shaykh Ibn Ashur wrote a
book in 1907 on reform of Islamic education, but at that time he was unsuccessful
in immediately bringing about many of his reforms of Islamic education. In the
1930's when Ibn Ashur was on the reform commission and in 1932 when he was the
Shaykh-Director of Zaytuna, he was successful in obtaining some of his reform
desires. The inability of Shaykh Ibn Ashur to introduce all of his reform ideas
at Zaytuna, even though he was in an executive position, and the inability of
Shaykh Abduh to stimulate a reform decree, even though he did stimulate students
and professors to seek reform, demonstrates the power of the conservative
forces over Zaytuna to maintain its century-old position.
Conclusions
There
were various factors which worked to influence the reform and secularization of
Zaytuna. The first influences were social, political, and historical.
Historically Zaytuna was affected by various political rulers of Tunisia whose
rule and philosophies influenced the educational philosophies and procedures at
Zaytuna. Some of this influence was manifested at Zaytuna in the 19th century.
First of all, the growth of the Malikite legal rite in the 12th century in
Tunisia led to a decreased emphasis on the ability of one to interpret the holy
books of Islam; this philosophy was stressed in various reform decrees which
affected Zaytuna in the 19th and 20th centuries. Secondly the Ottoman rule
increased the support of the Hanafite legal interpretation in Tunisia. This
legal rite didn't capture the majority of Tunisians; but since the Beys of
Tunisia favored this rite, it was given equal veneration among the professors
and courses at Zaytuna. Concerning the political developments which affected
Zaytuna, the most significant event was the establishment of the Protectorate
under the French. This action brought reform indirectly to Zaytuna because the
French made an increased effort to change the educational system of Tunisia.
They hoped to accomplish this by building various French schools as well as taking
control of the educational system in Tunisia—with the exception of Zaytuna.
This growth of French influence in the educational system increased the
pressure on Zaytuna officials to introduce modern sciences. The main social
factor which affected Zaytuna's educational approach was the decrease in jobs
available for Zaytuna graduates. This decrease resulted from four main factors;
(1) the Protectorate officials emphasized the Sadiqiyyah, Khalduniyyah, and
French school diplomas above those of the Zaytuna for government jobs; (2) the
number of religious jobs available decreased because of an increased emphasis
on the government courts of justice over the religious courts of justice; (3)
the number of students who attended Zaytuna increased causing a greater
competition for fewer jobs; and (4) the Zaytuna students lacked a working
knowledge of the French language.
When
the French came to political power in Tunisia, they tried to initiate reform at
Zaytuna. Such actions as Machuel's calling a reform council in 1898 are evidences
of their reform attempts. This council met with little success. After a few
other efforts to bring direct reform to Zaytuna, the French developed a policy
of leaving Zaytuna alone. In fact it can even be said that the French strived
to deemphasize reform at Zaytuna in the 1930's—with the exception of increasing
government control over Zaytuna--so that the nationalist movement wouldn't gain
support from Zaytuna students.
The
Zaytuna students who attended Khalduniyyah and Sadiqiyyah were a great influencing
factor for reform. These students were strong advocates for the adoption of
modern sciences at Zaytuna. This desire helped elicit the various student
strikes and demonstrations which led to the establishment of reform commissions
in 1910, 1924, and 1930. These commissions brought varying degrees of reform to
Zaytuna. Usually the reforms met some of the students' demands, while ignoring
other demands; the demands which were usually ignored dealt with the increase of
modern science subjects.
Islamic
reformists were an important factor which affected Zaytuna. Such men as Bechir
Sfar, Muhammad Abduh, and at-Tahir Ibn Ashur promoted reform at Zaytuna through
their writings and speeches and tried to increase the study of secular subjects
by Zaytuna students. Shaykh Abduh, from Al-Azhar, was of central significance.
Both Sfar, who was one of the founders of Khalduniyyah, and Ibn Ashur, who was
a Zaytuna professor and official, were influenced in some of their reformist
ideas by Abduh.
The
newspapers were another major factor which brought reform to ZaytGna. In the
early 1900's and then again in the 1920's and the 1930's, the newspapers made a
concentrated effort to bring reform of the nizara and the curriculum at
Zaytuna. In the 1930'a the newspapers were recognized by government and Zaytuna
officials as a source of student agitation. For this reason the Decree of March
1933 restricted both Zaytuna students and teachers from the association with or
the reading of newspapers. These restrictions brought with them severe penalties
for disobedience.
This
dissertation illustrated the important role that various social factors,
political factors, historical factors, the French influence in Tunisia, the
introduction of modern ideas in Tunisia, the reformists in Tunisia and from
Al-Azhar, the students, and the newspapers played in bringing reform to
Zaytuna. However, although reform was brought to Zaytuna--mostly in terms of
increased governmental control—, the educational procedures in 1933 weren't
much different than the educational practices in the 14th century.
Furthermore by 1933 there was still only a minimal number of modern science
courses taught at Zaytuna.
From
the information in this dissertation, one can make a generalization concerning
Muslim education in particular and world-wide education in general. This
generalization would be that reform of education seems to be more greatly
affected by outside rather than inside forces.
In this
dissertation it was stated that the lack of reform of the teaching methods and
curriculum caused student demonstrations, decrees, and reforms of Zaytuna's
educational procedures in the 19th and 20th centuries. The writer suggests that
an interesting study would be the investigation of the factors which resulted
in the reforms that came to Zaytilna after 1933. These reforms resulted in
Zaytuna becoming as it is today, the theological faculty of the University of Tunis.
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