The morning journal-courier., 1908-08-20
MOSLEM EDUCATION lust What the Child Is Taught by the Mohamme-
 dans.
GIRLS GET NO CHANGE
The Education of the Boy Starts at the Age of Four Years, Four
 Months, Four Days.

~NNNFN' decay, namely the Moslem theory of education. To begin with. that theory shuts out girls from the privilege of learning. The author of Ahlak-l- Jilah, standard work on ethics, who says 1t is not advisable to teach girls to read and write, until very recently voiced the general feeling among Moslems, says the Boston Transcript If girl knows how to recite the Koran and the liturgical prayers, she Is considered highly educated. Allah created girls only to be sacrificed as early as possible at the hymeneal altar. Mohammed is related to have said: ''Whosoever does not marry his daughter when she hath reached the age of twelve years. is responsible for any sin she may commit" In the time of ignorance" the heather Arabs were wont to bury their daughters alive; but since the days of Mohammed, the veil and the harem serve the same purpose.
 The education of boy, says tra- dltion. Is to begin at the age of four years, four months and four days On that suspicious day, he is taught to repeat the Bsmillah, or opening chapter of the Koran. Soon after the child, If of well-to-do parents. Is sent to a day school and taught tho alphabet. The school Is most prob ably corner of a merchants shop or an alcove in a mosque without any furniture save mats and rahils (small folding bookstands, resembling a tiny saw-buck) The schoo1master sits on the floor In the midst of the lads, who all drone out their lessons at the same time; there is no attempt at grading the pupils nor is there order in the schoolroom. The masters trained ear can, however. distin- guish mispronounced vowel or de- tect word omitted from Elahs book, though score of voices make a confusion of tongues like Babel. One lad is still at his alphabet; an other has gone as far as Abtad, or the numerical value of the letters; a third is spelling out the first Surah; while yet others are reading from the middle of the Koran at the top of their voices.
 The earliest and only textbook is the Koran or portions of 1t cheaply Autographed on second class paper. Of course there are no pictures in the Moslem primers, for tradition states that Mohammed cursed all who TypI1id naipt AraV oI- Consequently, their work is held to be unlawful. There is neither prayer nor singing when school opens; all orthodox praying is at daybreak, when boys are fast asleep, and as for sing ing Mohammed said singing or near ing songs causeth hypocrisy to grow in the heart even as rain causeth corn to grow in the field" (Mishkat xxi l9, 3.)
 To the American school boy, Mos < lem school and Mohammedan ] schoolbook would appear the dullest thing on earth. Yet the Arab boy seems to enjoy school for there is con- tinued distraction, and, especially if the schoolmaster is a shopkeeper plenty of time for idling While a customer bargains or the water car rier passes, or the coffee shopkeeper pours out the teachers daily beverage naturally all eyes turn away from their books. The mixed procession of Oriental street life passes before the school room (which Is nearly always open to the street) like a continuous ,panorama--horses, camels drivers, donkeys, yelled women, pastry sellers, pashas, soldiers, beggars and Bed ouins It Is no wonder that all learn ing becomes matter of rote and that the best memory receves the prize.
 Right here we stumble upon the supreme fault In their theory of edu- cation. The memory is trained to the utmost, while the reasoning powers are left entirely undeveloped. A Mos lem lad is not supposed to know what the words and sentences mean which he must recite every day; to ask question regarding the thought of the Koran would only result in rebuke or something more painful. Every grammar, logo, history and theology are taught by rote in the higher Mo- hammedan schools. Since orthodoxy cannot allow g. place for private judg- ment in the professors chair, there remains no reason why pupils should think for themselves Thousands of Moslem lads who know the whole Koran nearly by heart; cannot explain the meaning of the first chapter in <, every day language, Tens of thou sands can Tread" the Koran at ran dam, in the Moslem sence of reading, who cannot read an Arabic newspaper intelligently. The alpha and omega of knowledge is the IA chapters or Allah's revelation. What need IS there for other text books?
 Writing is taught on wooden slate or in copy books made by the tc%ch- CTS. States and slate pencils are prac- tically unknown and the youngest child begins with a reed pen and ink Cali .graphy Is not only science, but the chief art in that part of the world which abhors painting, statuary ana music. To write a beautiful Arabic hand is the height of youthful scholar ly ambition.
 It is difficult even to cut the reed nib alright, although some schoolboys be- come adopts in this use, of the pen knife. The ink is generally made by the teacher; 1t is lamp-black, vinegar, red -ochre, yellow arsenic and camphor in mysterious proportions A famous recipe for ink Is a family treasure.
 When a boy has finished the reading of the whole of the Koran for the first time and has learned the rudlments of writing, he graduates from the prim- ary school. On this occasion he has a rare holiday, Dressed in fine clothes, perhaps mounted on horseback, he vis- : .,nitrh1,ll...