Public personalities such as ‘Ali Pasha often established a madrasa as a sign of prestige and as a public expression of their commitment to traditional Islamic teaching. Theologians and public servants were trained in madrasas like this one, devoted to the study of Islamic jurisprudence according to the Malikite madhhab (juridical school).

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Madrasa al-Bashiya offered traditional Islamic teaching and prepared students for advancing to the Zaytuna University nearby. In the 19th century, its role became limited, and it was transformed to provide lodgings for the students of the Zaytuna.

Traditional Islamic education emphasised memorisation of the Holy Qur’an, the study of hadith, grammar, Islamic jurisprudence and other related subjects such as philosophy and astronomy. In the 19th century, European-inspired schools were founded in the Arab and Ottoman world, coexisting with traditional institutions.

Traditional Islamic educational institutions included the kuttab (a Qur’an school for children) and the madrasa, which provided advanced teaching. In Tunis, Fez and Cairo some madrasas were further connected to a centre of advanced knowledge, a mosque / university like the Qarawiyyin (founded by a woman, Fatima al-Fihriya), al-Azhar and the Zaytuna.

The School of the Three Doctors in Beirut was first established in 1835. Under secular administration, it provided education based on modern Western standards brought from Europe at the time, rather than on Lebanese standards.

Many Protestant missionary schools sprang up in 19th-century Lebanon. Their sites were chosen to ensure prominent visibility and an authoritative presence in the community they served. The Beirut Evangelical School for Girls and Boys had its roots in an educational institution set up by American Presbyterian missionaries active in Syria and Lebanon in the early 19th century.

This advanced military school offered a curriculum based on scientific and technical subjects (such as mathematics), literature, Arabic and foreign languages (French and Italian). The polytechnic school of Tunisia offered curricula related to reforms aimed at improving military education and training.

In the 19th century, universities tried to promote scientific knowledge with technical facilities. In Portugal and elsewhere, this important advance had begun as early as the late 18th century when, in the wake of principles emerging from the Enlightenment, the methodology of science subjects such as anatomy, astronomy and mathematics had been improved.

At the Sadiki school in Tunis during the 19th century, the curriculum included Arabic, foreign languages and scientific subjects. The school offered subjects updated according to Western educational principles and an education considered to be modern. Similar changes were implemented in Egypt and in the eastern territories of the Ottoman Empire at the time.

Traditionally, Lebanon was home to many religious groups, including numerous, diverse Christian communities. This diversity was increasingly reflected in its educational landscape in the 19th century, when Ottoman schools were joined by a wide range of Christian ones such as this Maronite school. The famous Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran studied here.

The Catholic Nazareth School in Beirut was completed in 1877. Situated on the hill of St George, it was established with permission from the Ottoman authorities to provide young local girls with modern education and vocational training.

The Khaldunia school in Tunis was introduced in 1896 as another institution for teaching scientific subjects (such as mathematics and physics) to the students of Zaytuna University.

This photograph was taken in the Lebanese village of Tartej. Two of the boys shown hold a sign to celebrate their local school. The sign, written in French, reads “Long live the Academy, Tartej, Lebanon”.

Founded in Lisbon in 1837 during a period of educational reform in Portugal, the Polytechnic School prepared students for military and technical careers with the study of mathematics, physics, astronomy and engineering subjects. Polytechnic schools first emerged in the late 18th century.