Memorising the Qur’an and rendering its message in writing were still important steps in the education of a 19th-century Muslim child. The child who owned this board would not only have copied the Qur’anic verses but also recited them, with the aim of successfully committing them to memory.

Pupils at Qur’anic schools were traditionally seated in a circle around their teacher, the muwaddib. Pupils would learn the Qur’an, Islamic principles and basic rules of the Arabic language.

This traditional kuttab in Cairo, romantically captured in a painting by John Frederick Lewis, gives a good impression of the atmosphere in traditional Qur’anic schools in the Middle East. The painting also represents Europe’s fascination with such schools and their teaching methodologies.

The Greek community, which was very significant in 19th-century Alexandria, undertook much philanthropic work there and focused in particular on education. The classroom at this orphanage enabled young girls to be taught the basics of geometry.

The Ferry Laws (1881–82), named after French educationalist Jules Ferry, established the concept of free, mandatory and secular primary education for all children in France. The French government tried to recreate this system in its colonies and protectorates but failed to take account of differences between its many cultural and religious groups, sometimes resulting in conflicts.

Among the European-style schools springing up across the Middle East in the 19th century were many Christian schools set up by their respective church authorities. This priest, Father Joseph Delore, taught at one of the many missionary schools set up in Lebanon during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Father Joseph Delore, a French Jesuit, taught in villages high in the Lebanese mountains in the late 19th century. Resources were evidently very scarce.

Father Joseph Delore, a French Jesuit, taught in villages high in the Lebanese mountains in the late 19th century. Resources were evidently very scarce.

Father Joseph Delore, a French Jesuit, taught in villages high in the Lebanese mountains in the late 19th century. Resources were evidently very scarce.

In the Maghreb, the French colonial authorities encouraged the development of professional schools. In Tunis, a school for local and European students in Bab Souika was founded in 1898. It was named after the French President Emile Loubet, who opened it. The school\'s success earned it the Grand Médaille at the Colonial Exhibition in 1900.

In the 19th century, the promotion of literacy among the Egyptian population was still primarily undertaken in the kuttab (Qur’anic schools). Teaching combined memorisation of the Qur’an with reading and writing lessons. Learning was based on memorising and repeating.

French education in the 19th and 20th centuries was based on pedagogy but also on the exemplary value of morality. Students were given prizes for achievement in subjects such as mathematics, reading or morality at the end of the year. Books and images were used to highlight the importance of education.

The Fallières High School was founded in Tunis for young European girls in 1920. Four-fifths of the students were French, and there were only five \'Muslim\' students – one in 100. As in France, these students received education thought appropriate for girls, that is, different from the education given to boys, with a focus on the skills required to run a household.

The elimination of illiteracy was a central issue both in Europe and in the Arab and Ottoman world during the 19th century. In Italy, literacy was not encouraged until the end of the century. It was made possible there in primary-level classes thanks to a large contingent of largely female teachers.

Traditional Qur’anic schools continued to exist alongside modern schools. Teaching was based on reading and memorising the Qur’an, with students traditionally seated on the floor around their teacher.

In its protectorates, France attempted to maintain traditional teaching while developing Western-style teaching. In this primary-level, French-style classroom a teacher gives explanations, while boys and girls – sitting at the same desks and on the same benches – face the blackboard. A local colleague keeps order at the back of the class.

In the 19th century, literacy in Algeria was still primarily taught in traditional Qur’anic schools: the Qur’an was learnt by heart, and writing skills were acquired by copying out its verses. Fascinated by the use of the Qur’an for teaching purposes, French travellers and scientists often photographed scenes of traditional learning, which were different from those found in state schools of secular France.