Literacy as a skill was first institutionalized in Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt and China soon after the art of writing was invented. Education then was not for the general people but a privilege for the chosen few who took on strategic roles in the running of the state and in religion. In Greece, education became more widespread in about the 5th century BC. The Greeks, however, sent only their male children to school. When Rome was conquered by the Greeks, the Romans under Greek influence developed a strong tradition of literacy. The Romans preferred their children to acquire knowledge about agriculture and warfare. It appears that the course of education is an eventful as the history of man.
The Prophet Mohammad (SM) equated one literate non-believer with ten illiterate believers. Islamic civilization pivoted on literacy and patronage of scholarship. Ibn Sina (called Avicenna in the west), one of the most famous Muslim philosophers of all times, saw the task of education as creating a complete citizen, physically, mentally and morally, and preparing him for a profession whereby he could earn his own livelihood and contribute to the society. In the views of Al-Farabi, another great Muslim philosopher, education was one of the most important social phenomena which made sure that the individual was prepared from an early age to acquire values, knowledge and practical skills within a particular culture.
The Prophet Mohammad (SM) equated one literate non-believer with ten illiterate believers. Islamic civilization pivoted on literacy and patronage of scholarship. Ibn Sina (called Avicenna in the west), one of the most famous Muslim philosophers of all times, saw the task of education as creating a complete citizen, physically, mentally and morally, and preparing him for a profession whereby he could earn his own livelihood and contribute to the society. In the views of Al-Farabi, another great Muslim philosopher, education was one of the most important social phenomena which made sure that the individual was prepared from an early age to acquire values, knowledge and practical skills within a particular culture.
