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This is an excerpt from an address in French given by Sannu‘ at the Fête des Elèves at the Graillot Institute in Paris, on March 11, 1906. It was published the following year. The Ottoman emperor has learned the value of knowledge and knows that education is the source of happiness and prosperity among peoples. Was it not the worthy successor of the great Prophet of Islam who said: “Cultivate science, for the study of the sciences, to the glory of God, is an act of good, research into them is an act of merit, and the cultivation thereof adds depth to a holy struggle, the pursuit thereof is an act of piety, the teaching thereof an act of charity, and for those who are worthy, the act of taking part in scientific endeavors is an act that brings them closer to God.” He further expounded: “Science is a river and wisdom is a sea; those persons of knowledge walk around this river, the angels dive to the bottom of this sea, and those persons who are instructed in the knowledge of God sail in vessels of salvation.” O my dear friends, if I were to repeat to you all the good things that the blessed Prophet of Islam and his august successors have said in praise of knowledge, I would have to stay here until tomorrow! Suffice it to quote a few of their sublime thoughts to give an idea of their love for science. Science is the heart’s life and the soul’s fire. Knowledge is the immortal son of man. The wise are to the earth as the stars are to the sky. You must not believe, ladies and gentlemen, those who tell you that Islam is the enemy of education. If this were true, then the august caliph would not have founded schools for boys and for girls throughout his vast empire. I visited the civil and military schools of Constantinople [founded] by imperial decree, and I can assure you that they are the rival of those in the most civilized countries in the world. That visit took me eight days, and I had the pleasure and ­ satisfaction 5 | Ottoman Imperial Schools Ya‘qub Sannu‘, “Les Écoles Impériale Ottomanes,” L’Univers Musulman (The Muslim world), March 15, 1907, 4. 22 | ya‘q u b s a n n u ‘ of chatting in Arabic, French, English, German, and other languages to the students , who surprised me with their knowledge and eloquence. Regarding women’s education, it is developing well as a consequence of the encouragement of H.I.M. [his imperial majesty] the sultan. In one of the imperial schools for young women I was received by the strains of the Hamidiye7 march, a piano duet for four hands, exceptionally well played. They [the students] recited verses in Turkish, Arabic, Persian, and French. I shall never forget the memories of this visit, and I shall care religiously for the embroidered fabrics that they gave me, made by those gracious girls themselves. On that day, I would have liked to have with me those French ladies who are here now; they would have been enchanted by their Ottoman comrades. 7. [A popular Turkish tune, still heard today.] ...

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