The Shi‘ite ‘ulama¢, the madrasas, and Educational Reform in the Late Ottoman Period

44599

Jabal ‘Amil’s history is associated with renowned Shi‘ite madrasas (schools) and illustrious jurists who left their mark on the history of Twelver Shi‘ite law and jurisprudence. Jabal ‘Amil was part of the coastal range of Syria that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to Jabal al-Shaykh in the east and from Jabal al-Rihan in the north to Jabal al-Karmil in the south. Jabal ‘Amil was shared during the Ottoman period by two governorships, namely, the sancak (region) of Sidon-Beirut which covered the northern districts and the sancak of Safad which covered the southern districts. Both belonged to the eyalet (province) of Damascus. This study throws light on the socio-economic conditions in Jabal ‘Amil during the late Ottoman period, the complex relations of its Shi‘ite ‘ulama’ to the state, and their approaches to Ottoman educational modernism. This study elucidates also the transformation in Ottoman legal-doctrinal ‘orthodoxy’ and the activities of the Shi‘ite ‘ulama’ who claimed some power through both adjustment and dissent toward this ‘orthodoxy.’ It underscores the expansion in the public functions of the Shi‘ite ‘ulama’ from the 1870s until 1919-20, the optimism they expressed about the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II (r. 1876-1909) and the general adaptations they made to Ottoman educational reforms.

157

The Journal Of Ottoman Studies

185

The Journal Of Ottoman Studies