the three empires and the islamic phoenix 295water-canal projects and state enterprises were so sever that many
thousands lost their lives and others had to amputate part of their
hands to render themselves unfit to work (Armstrong, 2000). Western
penetration in science and engineering developed into a western intel-
lectual penetration in Egypt. During the reign of Muahmmad Ali’s
grandson Ismàìl (1863–79), who was more inclined towards the
Americans than the Europeans, an American college was established
in Upper Egypt in 1865, and the American College for Girls in
Cairo was founded in 1865.
Lack of Encouragement of Judicial Work
The lack of enthusiasm towards the work of jurists, as opposed to
architectural and artistry achievements, under the Ottoman Turks may
be mentioned as a further reason for the notable absence of judicial
work, including that on economics. True the Ottomans showed a
particular zeal towards compiling some of the best talents of the con-
quered lands in the empire’s capital, with the intention of utilising
them for the glory of the imperial state, but it is also true to notice
that these were not of the juristic type. The talents needed to glorify
the empire were mainly of the vocationally artistic type in architec-
ture and industry. Artistry was what was needed in the new mili-
tary Empire not the Sharì"ah, and artistry was what the Ottoman
administration seemed to have aimed to achieve in art and archi-
tecture, not jurisprudence. In addition as the state was mainly a mil-
itary state, with an inherent tendency towards militarisation, as was
depicted in their inherited system of the Turks Seljuqs, the Ottomans
had very little to offer contemporary jurists to develop their work.
Further, the Ottomans who were keen on the development of their
military state may have found the views of jurists, the most of whom
looked suspiciously at any attempt of “modernisation”, too rigid and
too slow to keep up with the empire’s pace of needed innovation.
Moreover, the Jurists on their part, seeing the economic hardships
of the population, may have come to realise that the ultimate objec-
tive of the state, as it was, was not geared towards the realization
of welfare to the society as much as it was to achieve the welfare
to the state and the flul≈àn. Sharì"ah therefore was left lagging behind.
The role of the Ulama"under the Ottomans was of a mixed nature.
At the early start of the Ottoman rule, the Rightly Guided theologians,
the Ulama", and the Sharì"ah, enjoyed a privileged treatment by the