Editor | Rifaa Rafi Al Tahtawi |
---|---|
Categories | Education magazine |
Frequency | Bimonthly |
Founder | Ministry of Education |
Founded | 1870 |
Final issue | 1877 |
Country | Khedivate of Egypt |
Based in | Cairo |
Language | Arabic |
OCLC | 28815667 |
Rawdat Al Madaris ( Arabic: روضة المدارس المصرية, lit. 'School Garden'), also known as Rawdat Al Madaris Al Misriyah, [1] was a bimonthly education magazine which was published in Cairo, Egypt, between 1870 and 1877. It was the first Egyptian and Arab publication which specifically focused on education. [2]
Rawdat Al Madaris was established by the Ministry of Education led by the reformist Ali Pasha Mubarak in 1870. [3] [4] It was started part of Khedive ismail's reforms. [2] In the first issue its goal was stated as "the consolidation of the educational system and the shaping of the minds of the students and their sensibility." [5] Therefore, it attempted to broaden knowledge which was to be expressed in an easily understood language. [6]
The editor of Rawdat Al Madaris was Rifaa Rafi Al Tahtawi from its start in 1870 to 1873. [7] [8] The magazine played a significant role in the introduction of his views. [5] Tahtawi's son, Ali Fahmi, worked in Rawdat Al Madaris as a director. [2] The magazine was headquartered in Cairo and came out bimonthly. [9] [10] It was distributed freely to students, [9] and teachers were asked to subscribe to the magazine. [6]
Rawdat Al Madaris produced many articles on school reform in Egypt and shaped the basis of this reform. [2] Its reform approach was based on Jamal al-Din al-Afghani's ijtihad view. [11] The magazine supported the teaching of botany, geography and history and that of traditional subjects. [2] Ali Pasha Mubarak, Rifaa Rafi Al Tahtawi, Abdullah Fikri and İsmail Al Falaki were some major contributors of Rawdat Al Madaris. [6] Contributors of the magazine also included university professors and undergraduate students who published articles on various scientific subjects, including chemistry. [4] [12] In addition, the magazine featured an Arabic translation of Molière’s Le Médecin malgré lui by Muhammad 'Uthman Jalal in 1871. [13] [14] However, it was published in only three issues of the magazine due to the obscenity of the language used by Jalal. [13] The magazine also covered Arabic poetry contributing to its revival. [5]
Rawdat Al Madaris folded in 1877. [2] [15]