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Akuttab (Arabic:كُتَّابkuttāb, plural:kataatiib,كَتاتِيبُ[1]) ormaktab (Arabic:مَكْتَب)[2][3] is a type ofelementary school in theMuslim world. Though thekuttab was primarily used for teaching children in reading, writing, grammar, andIslamic studies, such as memorizing and reciting the Qur'an (includingQira'at), other practical and theoretical subjects were also often taught.[4] The kuttāb represents an old-fashioned method ofeducation in Muslim majority countries, in which asheikh teaches a group of students who sit in front of him on the ground. Until the 20th century, when modern schools developed, kuttabs were the prevalent means of mass education in much of theIslamic world.
Kuttab refers to only elementary schools in Arabic. This institution can also be called amaktab (مَكْتَب) ormaktaba (مَكْتَبَة) in Arabic—with many transliterations. In commonModern Standard Arabic usage,maktab means "office" whilemaktabah means "library" or "(place of) study" andkuttāb is a plural word meaning "Writers".[5][1] In Morocco, this institution can be referred to as am'siid (مْسِيد).
TheClassical Persian wordمکتبخانهmaktabkhāna has been used inIranian Persian (maktabkhâneh)[6] as well as inAzerbaijani (məktəbxana[7]), inOttoman Turkish (مكتبخانه;[8]modern Turkish:mektephane) and inUzbek (maktabxona), often alongsideمکتبmaktab (Azerbaijani:məktəb;Turkish:mektep; etc.).Maktab is used inDari Persian inAfghanistan as an equivalent term toschool, including bothprimary andsecondary schools. InBosnian, it is called amejtef ormekteb.
In themedieval Islamic world, an elementaryschool was known as amaktab, which dates back to at least the tenth century. Likemadrasas (which referred tohigher education), amaktab was often attached to amosque.[4] In the 16th century, theSunni Islamic juristIbn Hajar al-Haytami discussedmaktab schools.[9] In response to apetition from a retiredShia Islamic judge who ran aMadhab elementary school for orphans, al-Haytami issues afatwa outlining a structure ofmaktab education that prevented any physical or economic exploitation of enrolled orphans.[10]
In the 11th century, the famous PersianIslamic philosopher and teacher,Ibn Sina (known asAvicenna in the West), in one of his books, wrote a chapter dealing with themaktab entitled "The Role of the Teacher in the Training and Upbringing of Children", as a guide to teachers working atmaktab schools. He wrote that children can learn better if taught inclasses instead of individualtuition from privatetutors, and he gave a number of reasons for why this is the case, citing the value ofcompetition andemulation among pupils as well as the usefulness of groupdiscussions anddebates. Ibn Sina described thecurriculum of amaktab school in some detail, describing the curricula for two stages of education in amaktab school.[4]
Ibn Sina wrote that children should be sent to amaktab school from the age of 6 and be taughtprimary education until they reach the age of 14. During which time, he wrote that they should be taught theQur'an,Islamic metaphysics,language,literature,Islamic ethics, and manual skills (which could refer to a variety of practical skills).[4]
Ibn Sina refers to thesecondary education stage ofmaktab schooling as the period of specialization, when pupils should begin to acquire manual skills, regardless of their social status. He writes that children after the age of 14 should be given a choice to choose and specialize in subjects they have an interest in, whether it was reading, manual skills, literature, preaching,medicine,geometry,trade and commerce,craftsmanship, or any other subject or profession they would be interested in pursuing for a futurecareer. He wrote that this was a transitional stage and that there needs to be flexibility regarding the age in which pupils graduate, as the student's emotional development and chosen subjects need to be taken into account.[5]
In medieval times, theCaliphate experienced a growth inliteracy, having the highest literacy rate of theMiddle Ages, comparable toclassical Athens' literacy inantiquity.[11] The emergence of themaktab and madrasa institutions played a fundamental role in the relatively high literacy rates of the medieval Islamic world.[12]
In many regions of the Islamic world, kuttabs were historically built as part of religious and charitable complexes sponsored by rulers or local elites. InEgypt – especiallyCairo – kuttabs were often paired withsabils (kiosks dispensing water to the public). They usually consisted of a room built above the sabil. These "sabil-kuttabs" were a common feature of the architectural complexes inMamluk architecture and subsequentOttoman Egyptian architecture.[13][14][15] InOttoman architecture, themektep orsibyan mektebi (both Turkish terms for the kuttab/maktab) was a recurring element ofkülliyes or religious complexes.[16][17] InIstanbul,mekteps were included in theFatih Mosque complex, theSüleymaniye complex, theAtik Valide Mosque complex, theYeni Valide Mosque complex, among many other examples.[18] InMorocco, anm'sid (the local term for a kuttab) was included in some charitable complexes such as those of theBab Doukkala Mosque and theMouassine Mosque, both built inMarrakesh by theSaadi dynasty.[19]
