An International Model for Higher Religious Education: Kulliya Al-Salahiyya Al-Islamiyya of Jerusalem
This study discusses Selahaddîn Eyyubi Kulliye-i İslamiyesi, which was established in Jerusalem in 1915 as a provincial branch of the Daru'l-hilafeti'laliyye Madrasa and was an original and international madrasah model with its own organizational structure and curriculum, in the scope of reform actions started in madrasas during the Second Constitutional Era. The purpose of the establishment, administrative structure, educational philosophy, and all other characteristic features of the Kulliye, which was opened considering local needs and the integrity of center and provinces, will be evaluated as a whole. The most outstanding feature of Kulliye was that its admissions spanned the farthest geographical zone reached by the Ottoman Empire as well as the hinterland, where Muslims lived. In spite of the extraordinary circumstances of the era, the Kulliye, which was designed to address Islamic geography of a century ago in Jerusalem, is a role model for multinational Higher Religious Teaching Institutions. In this respect, it became an area where the most concrete and practical application of the Islamic Union’s politics was projected. In addition to the difference of central–provincial structuring in Ottoman madrasas, the fact that the provincial organization differed in terms of curriculum, syllabus, and student resources is a concrete indication that local needs were taken into account, and that local opportunities were exploited. In this article, the administrative structure, education, and training activities of Selahaddin Eyyubi Kulliye-i Islamiyesi, which is one of the most significant landmarks of Ottoman education history, are discussed based on primary sources—especially archive documents—with the aim to contribute to religious education approaches.
Yüksek Din Öğretiminde Çok Kültürlü ve Uluslararası Bir Model: Kudüs Selâhaddin Eyyûbî Külliye-i İslâmiyesi
Bu çalışmada, II. Meşrutiyet döneminde medreselerde başlatılan ıslahat kapsamında Dârü’l-hilâfeti’l-aliyye Medresesi’nin taşra şubesi olarak 1915 senesinde Kudüs’te açılmış olan ve gerek teşkilat yapısı gerekse ders programıyla uluslararası özgün bir medrese modeli olarak karşımıza çıkan Selâhaddîn Eyyûbî Külliye-i İslâmiyesi ele alınmaktadır. Merkez-taşra bütünlüğü ve yerel ihtiyaçlar gözetilerek açılmış olan Külliye’nin kuruluş amacı, idârî yapısı, eğitim felsefesi ve diğer tüm karakteristik özellikleri bir bütün olarak değerlendirilmeye çalışılmıştır. Külliye’nin Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nun ulaştığı en geniş coğrafî alan ile bu alanın dışında kalan Müslümanların yaşadığı hinterlanda hitap eden bir kayıtkabul alanına sahip olması onun öne çıkan özelliğidir. Dönemin olağanüstü şartlarına rağmen günümüzden bir asır önce İslâm coğrafyasına hitap etmek üzere Kudüs’te açılmış olan uluslararası nitelikteki Külliye, çok uluslu yüksek din öğretimi kurumlarına rol modelliği yapacak niteliktedir. Külliye, bu yönüyle İslâm Birliği siyasetinin en somut ve pratik uygulamasının projelendirildiği bir alana dönüşmektedir. Osmanlı medreselerinde merkez-taşra yapılanmasının farklılığına ilaveten taşra teşkilatının da kendi içerisinde gerek ders programı ve müfredat, gerekse öğrenci kaynağı açısından farklılık arz etmesi yerel ihtiyaçların dikkate alındığının ve yerel imkânlardan en üst düzeyde yararlanıldığının somut göstergesidir. Bu makalede, Osmanlı eğitim tarihinin önemli tecrübelerinden biri olan Selâhaddîn Eyyûbî Külliye-i İslâmiyesi’nin idârî yapısı ile eğitim ve öğretim faaliyetleri, başta arşiv belgeleri olmak üzere birincil kaynaklara dayalı olarak ele alınmış, böylece günümüz din öğretimi yaklaşımlarına katkı sağlanması amaçlanmıştır.
This study discusses the Selahaddin Eyyubi Kulliye-i Islamiyesi, which was opened as a provincial branch of the Daru’l-hilafeti’l-aliyye Madrasa within the scope of the reforms initiated in Istanbul madrasas during the Second Constitutional Era. The purpose of the establishment, administrative structure, educational philosophy, and all other characteristic features of the Kulliye, which was opened considering local needs and the integrity of center and provinces, will be evaluated as a whole.
The Selahaddin Eyyubi Kulliye-i Islamiyesi was inaugurated in Jerusalem in 1915, appearing to be a unique international madrasa model with its organizational structure and curriculum. The prominent feature of the Kulliye is that its admissions span the widest geographical area reached by the Ottoman Empire and the hinterland, where Muslims outside this area live. Despite the extraordinary conditions of the period, this international Kulliye, which was opened to address Islamic geography, to meet the religious needs of the countries with an Arab majority, and to unite the Muslims of the world, can act as a role model for multinational, religious higher education institutions. This study aims to address said Kulliye, which is one of the important landmarks of Ottoman education history, based on primary sources—especially the documents obtained from the Istanbul Mufti’s Meshihat Archive—and thus contribute to today’s religious teaching approaches.
Apart from Hüseyin Atay’s work titled Osmanlılarda Yüksek Din Eğitimi, where the Kulliye is mentioned—albeit briefly—other works also deal with the subject separately.
The first of these is Martin Strohmeier’s work, titled Al-Kulliya as-Salahiya in Jerusalem: Arabismus, Osmanismus, und Panİslamismus im ersten Weltkrieg, which was published in German in 1991. The last part of the work, which comprises evaluations about the establishment, curriculum, regulations, staff, and students of the Kulliye, also includes some documents and photos of it. There is also an article titled Al-Kulliya al-Salahiyya, A Late Ottoman University in Jerusalem by the same author, published in 2000, and Ruveyde Fazl Ahmed’s master’s thesis with the title el-Medresetü’s-Salâhiyye fi’l-Kuds, which was completed in the year 2015.
Among Turkish works, Kenan Ziya Taş’s Osmanlının Son Cihan Projesi Kudüs Selahaddin Eyyûbi Külliye-i İslâmiyesi is worth mentioning. It is understood that the aforementioned work is the book version of the author’s previous article, An Ottoman School in Jerusalem: Salahaddin Eyyubi Kulliye-i Islamiyesi. It is evident that the subject of the Kulliye has been discussed superficially, with only a few documents, and that the archive belonging to the Meshihat authority with which the Kulliye is affiliated was not used in this book. When the original text of the Kulliye Regulations and its Latinized translation with some errors added to the end of the book are removed, one can see that there is no text giving comprehensive information about the Kulliye.
Zeki Salih Zengin’s article, II. Meşrutiyet Döneminde Kudüs Ve Medine’de İki Eğitim Kurumu: Medrese-i Külliye ve Selahaddin Eyyubî Külliye-i İslamiyesi, and Harun Yılmaz’s article, Osmanlı Son Döneminde Medreselerin Islahı ve Panislamizm Tartışmaları Bağlamında Bir Medrese: Kudüs Selâhaddîn-i Eyyûbî Külliye-i İslâmiyyesi ve Külliye Talimatnamesi, stand out as two important works that reveal the founding philosophy of the Kulliye.
First, it is important to note that the Daru’l-hilafeti’l-aliyye Madrasa, which is structured as a new madrasa model following the regulations proposed during the Second Constitutional Era, was planned with two different organizational structures: central and provincial. While the Daru’l-hilafeti’l-aliyye Madrasa, which was opened in Istanbul, constitutes the central organization, the madrasas opened outside of Istanbul as its branches constitute the provincial organization. Within the scope of the provincial organization, madrasas that were opened in the Anatolian geography, including in Kirkuk, were structured under the name of Five-Year Provincial Madrasa, and within the same scope, a unique international madrasa model was set forth in Jerusalem under the name of Kulliye.
In addition to the difference of central–provincial structuring in Ottoman madrasas, the fact that the provincial organization differed in terms of curriculum, syllabus, and student resources is a concrete indication that local needs were taken into account and that local opportunities were exploited.
On the other hand, the fact that the student admissions of the Selahaddin Eyyubi Kulliye-i Islamiyesi encompassed a wide geographical area—from South Africa to Morocco, from the Caucasus to Kazan, from Poland to China, and from Tashkent to Afghanistan, India, and the Philippines—draws attention as a 100-year-old example of the international and multicultural education approach that is at the top of the contemporary education agenda.
The Kulliye, in this respect, became an area where the most concrete and practical application of the Islamic Union’s politics was projected. It was a strategic educational institution born out of the need to ensure that Muslims of different ethnic origins and sects united and acted together on the basis of Islam and to protect the state against the divisive and destructive influence of regional and ethnic nationalism, which was fueled by Western states—especially the British. The fact that a center like Jerusalem, which has a multicultural, multi-denominational, and multi-religious historical background, was chosen as location attributes the Kulliye the role of uniting and unifying the Islamic world, in addition to its internationality. In conclusion, the international Selahaddin Eyyubi Kulliye-i Islamiyesi remains, despite the extraordinary conditions of the Second Constitutional Era, an important educational institution with unique qualities that can serve as a role model for the multicultural, international, religious higher education institutions that became widespread in the first quarter of the twenty-first century. Despite its brief activity of only two years, it is evident that the Kulliye has left behind valuable experiences that can provide important contributions to today’s religious education approaches.
