New-York tribune., 1899-07-09
AN ARAB UNIVERSITY.
THE MOSQUE OF THE OLIVE TREE GREAT
CENTRE OF MOsLEM LEARNINd
rom The Pail Mall Gazette.


CENTRE OF MosLEM LEARNINd
From The Pail Mall Gazette.
Sir Harry Johnston devOtes a section OF Ms
NJ W report on Tunis 10 an account Oh trie NJ ~
,'ros taLer therc for educating the native p7pu-
Iation In the course Of this he gives Fei IN ii
,eresting account Of the Mosque OF the O'Is'
Tree (Jama- a-ez -Zituna) at IuniS' one Vne, ~, ~
three great centres Of Mahometan eaihlns ~
North Africa the others being III AZhar ia
cairo. and the Great Mosque at Fez, 'h.'tro IN g.
rocco This Zituna still remains stDaC t,h
II teaching. l. is an immense Duldths, r't
1l;1 uorphyry columns. lit only by many 'Pr.
doors Outside the main building Is 'ta
square. surrounded by colonnade' Am az Vie .ha H
of which is an immense mlnaret. Wlthh t'0
main building where the porphyry Columns A.,
is the sacred shrine and IN this nam pullp'"o
the prof ssors teach and the students lear
The institution mas valuable IbIary ol 81 80
hooks and manuscripts some Of which are said
10 have come from the famous library 81 A''N-
andria destroyed by the first MahoiHr1th 'i.
vader of Egypt. Sir Harry Johnston Hom ,is
asked a student at the mosque "hether IH.a
was the case but the student asserteq l"at
evs ~ docums mt in the library was n Aiabic anu
either in Cutie Or modern Arabic chardc.e,a.
But a search in the library by a competeh.
81 hoar would probably result in discoveries ..
interest There is such large proportion -.
old works inscribed in Cuhc Characters tntS s
there are one or more professors OF Cullc, -" no
g, ach students 20 master this style or writing
and enafle them to reaa the old works:
over four hundred students are usually taught
a
Ired professors The lectures begin at sunrise
and continue until sunset, fifteen different -
ures usually going on at the same time. IA IN
professor sits crOss-legged. with his PACK
AGAINST one Of the many columns OF the Inosdu"'
his students grouped about him. The latter NAty
in age from sixteen 10 thirty, Dut occas''nA'iy
are men Of advanced middle age. lH'y -i',
choose their own professors but arr constrah'I
I % some extent to the course ot ed.h4i'e y
is considered best for them - follow. Ihey I'VE
near the mosque in medressahs. or I0dgIhSs' u
which there are twenty-five. each presided Over
10y a sheik Or elder ,..
The instruction is chiefly in theology rhe'o'',1
| l.yic Grammar law and medicine. and nuch
Obsolete and useless teaching is given under
these heads Until recently there was Dut lit'ie
method in the instruction: each professor ran
Llai IN in his discourse, ranging over any l'p4C
IN which he cared to impart Information. ana
tho students listened or not as they choSe. ID
encourage a more practical education. the state
offered the students exemption from ml.itaTy
service and from certain taxes II they paSseI
an elementary outside examination. but ony
fur OF sixty-six recently succeeded in dong
his In future il is intended 70 impress on the
management Of the mosque that each professor
should keep to one subject; that the students
should be- obliged TO take notes and pass perl'u-
ical examinations
outside lectures on scientific subjects ana IN
matters Of pres ent-day interest have also ne"h
astab ablished and about one hundred students
from the mosque attend these, 50 that no"
"Tunisians tell each other in Arabic ana WIN
out any interference from either trench oHciai
Or Arab theOlOgian. the news or the word ana
the nature Of the great discoveries which are
beng made in Europe and America