Remembering Mohammed bin Ali Al Mahmoud

With the passing away last week of Mohammad bin Ali Al Mahmoud at the age of 91, the UAE has lost one of its pioneers in the field of education.

Al Mahmoud laid the foundation for a regular form of schooling at a time when traditional informal education (Kuttab) based on teaching the Holy Quran, Islamic doctrine, the Arabic language, and basic arithmetic, was the only known form of education.

Expressing his views on education, he noted: "Education is a holy mission. A teacher should read and be an intellectual to be eligible for this job. Indeed, the pupils whom I taught are my sons." He called for the modernisation of the educational system in the UAE even as he stressed the importance of the preservation of heritage and culture.

Al Mahmoud was born in Al Sheyoukh district in Sharjah in a well educated family. His father established the first school, Al Taymiya Al Mahmoudiya, in the UAE in 1905. He joined this school at the age of six where he obtained his basic education. He then continued his education in Al Salmiya School in the UAE and Al Hidaya Al Khalifiya in Bahrain.

Al Mahmoud established Al Eslah Al Mohammadiya School in 1925 in Sharjah. He was the first to call for free education, the need to educate women, and equality between men and women in terms of rights and responsibilities.Al Mahmoud was concerned with education not only in the UAE but also in Qatar where he established the Al Eslah Al Ahmadiya School in 1948. In recognition of his role in education in the UAE and teaching primary classes, His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, bestowed an award on him in 2000.

Al Mahmoud was also a poet and intellectual who was fond of reading, and with a deep interest in culture. He set up the Al Eslah library in his school at a time when books were rare and had to be brought to the UAE from India, Egypt, Iraq, and other countries.

Recalling his years in Al Taymiya Al Mahmoudiya School where he received his basic education, Al Mahmoud said that it was a semi-formal type of schooling that offered Islamic education and taught the Arabic language. He recalled that apart from education, the school used to provide pupils with accommodation, food and clothes. The school was a modest building with carpets for pupils to sit on instead of benches and desks.

He also recounted how his father ran this school initially and how he coped financially. At a later stage, a rich trader from Najd in Saudi Arabia offered to cover the school's expenses on condition that the educational system was developed. Thus, two sections were established in the school, one for religious education and the other for a modern one. However, this school was closed after 16 years due to the recession in the pearl trade in the 1930s, which was the main economic activity in the Gulf at that time.

Following in his father's footsteps, Al Mahmoud ran Al Eslah Al Mohammadiya School which he set up. He modernised the educational system by offering the study of social sciences besides religious education.

He was influenced by the cultural movement in the Arab countries and based the curriculum on the enlightened and progressive writings of this movement.

Ideologically, he believed that ethics, religion and justice are the core principles of life and the way for reform in society. He led the way for modern education in the country and will always be remembered for his pioneering efforts in this field.