The Washington herald., 1907-10-06

a frman, or diploma. from the Khedive.
along with a robe OF honor Above them
all is the sheikh el gami a title which
may be translated as principal Of the
mosques. lie is 10 oil intents and pur-
poses the primate Of the Moslem Church
in Egypt, occupying much the same &C.
clesiastical position as the sheikh al Is
lam 81 COnstantinOple, receives a stipend
Of about $4,000 a year from the state
managed endOwments OF the university,
and possesses an official residence in
the shape Of beautiful old Arab palace.
With regard 10 the end0wments for the
maintenance Of the teachers and the
pupils. which are supplemented by gifts
and contributions from those localities
whence the students are most frequently
sent they are administered BIZ the wakf,
the one department Of the Egyptian gov
eminent which has escaped foreign su-
pervision and interference, and which is
under exclusively native control The
property Of the wakf is very extensive.
representing as il does donations, be-
quests, and the possessions Of mosques
and Of religious establishments that have
for one reason or another ceased TO exist.
Until the beginning Of the nineteenth
century the administration was wholly
ecclesiastical But 4Iehemet Ali, the
founder OF the present KhedivesI
dynasty, found that there was 50 much
mismanagene and consequent loss. that
he took over the direction OF all the en-
dowments. thereby vastly increasing the
university's resources. which he still fur
ther supplemented n the most generous
manner from his own Golfers. The
money which he thus gave was well
spent. For the right thus secured 10 ad-
minister the property Of the university
endowed him with a prepOnderant influ-
encc over the destines OF the principal
center of MOsiem culture. MOslem
thought and MCslem learning.
There are no class or lecture rooms at
El-Azhar as IN European universities.
The sheikh or professor takes his seat
on a mat by one OF the many hundred
pillars that support the roof Of the
mosque. and his pupils squat around him
In fact, al El-Azhar the taking the seat
by the pillar" Is equivalent TO the filling
professors chair" at Yale, Harvard. or
Princeton; and in the case of the ten or
twelve leading professors who hold the
Khediveal diploma as such. they are
distinguished from their feIlow7teachers
by the fact that their mat at the base
OF the pillar Is supplemented BY q low
wooden dais The lectures deal mainly
with Koranic theology and law. rhetoric
logic, and Arabic grammar, Noslem di-
vinity and law Of course taking the lead
ing place in the curriculum. The lee
lures are delivered IN the sing-song tone
characteristic OF Oriental teaching, and
the students when engaged In reciting
usually sway their bodies 10 and fro with
the precision Of a pendulum. The lee
ture, which lasts from an hour 20 two
hours, usually closes with the words:
so far. and may Allah give us under
standing" Then the students all rise,
90 UP 10 the teacher one by one, and kiss
his hand in leave-taking. The lectures
begin in the morning after ablutiOn and
prayers, and are interrupted at noon by
the calls Of the mueZZin % midday
prayer. All hasten 10 the Cisterns in
the fore-coUrt 10 once more perform the
prescribed abIutions, and then PROSTATE
themselves. with their faces in the d.
rection OF Mecca After the midday rest
the lectures begin again, and are not
ended until the evening prayer, known
as eI magrib. On Friday. the Moslem
Sunday. all work is suspended at the
university. But az noon thousands OF the
faithful may be seen in the vast pillared
hail, engaged in prayer, led by the imam,
or listening 20 the preacher. Not only
is the instruction free, but the students,
Ike the professors, receive support from
the Wakf. in the shape OF rations OF
bread and beans, the distribution Of
clothes, and additional provisions during
ramadan and on the occasion Of other
great religious festivals. The students
are classified for purposes Of residence
according 10 the nationality in CON-
bination with a system Of boarding
houses or settlements. These are known
a riwaks ttents} and each MOhammedan
nation may be said 10 have its own
riwdk at Cairo. round El-Azhar. and
connected Herewith. contributing. Of
course. 70 its support Perhaps the larg-
est and most luxurious OF these riwaks
are the dozen or more maintained by
the Moslem princes OF India, while one
IS devoted exclusively 10 the blind.
What TO Western eyes is particularly
defective in the system Of instruction at
this ancient university is the absence Of
any connected series Of lectures. The
AIOslem professor II Is true, devotes him
self 10 a particular branch Of study. but
he does not apparently make any attempt
70 organize a systematic course. being
content 20 seize apparently haphazard
upon a text or a theme, and then 70 ex-
plain and expound It according 10 his
own lights.
Ia--a a.e--4NzS ,F1r-a ~t.
headquarters Of Moslem Orthodoxy. The
latter is perhaps misleading expression
in this instance. For all sorts OF sects
and rites of the faith OF the Prophet are
represented at its university. There
are at least a dozen great schools rep
resented by students and professors, who,
bound together only in their common be-
lief in Allah and in his Prophet Ma
homet, entertain the most contradictory
tenets ana doctrines. Realizing, how
ever. that they are all endeavoring 10 OBJ
tain salvation, though by different routes
and methods, they work side by side IN
the utmost amity and tolerance for one
another, and Il is a thing OF daily oc-
currenCe for two professors OF different
sects 10 be sitting back 10 back by the
same pillar. interpreting the same chap
ter OF the canon law according 20 the
antagonistic conceptions Of their respec-
tive schools. The sect most largely rep
resented at El-Azhar is that OF the Han
afees, from among whom the sheikh-el-
Azhar, or warden Of the university, and
the sheikh-el-gami, its president and the
Primate OK Islam ip Egypt, are always
chosen The Hanafees are the sect OF
Moslems that are most distinguished for
their freedom Of thought, their liberalism,
has cfs L g.
nate thing for Western nations owning
M0slem dependencies that the Hanafees
should occupy the commanding role at
the great University OF El-Azhar, the
focus of Moslem faith and learning L
is fortunate. too, for the future Of Islam,
EX-ATTACHE.