e
European possession; they have extended their power over many parts of
Asia and Africa, until now they number about two hundred million souls.

The five chief Moslem precepts are:--

1. Confession of the unity of God. "There is one God, and Mohammed is
his prophet."

2. Stated prayer.

3. Almsgiving.

4. The fast of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Mohammedan year.

5. Observance of the festival of Mecca. Every Moslem is expected to make
a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his lifetime.

=Education.=--When Mohammedanism became secure in its power, it turned
its attention to education. The successors of Mohammed were called
caliphs, and the caliphs of Bagdad and Cordova rivaled each other in
fostering learning. Schools were established in all large Moslem cities
and in many smaller towns. Their scholars translated the works of
Aristotle and other Greek authors. They taught mathematics, astronomy,
philosophy, and grammar. They originated the science of chemistry, and
made great advances in the study of algebra and trigonometry. They also
measured the earth, and made catalogues of the stars. Every branch of
knowledge was studied, and students were attracted from all parts of
Europe to their schools, especially to Cordova.

Students lived in colleges with the professors, and there was an
atmosphere of culture and investigation not equaled in any of the
Christian universities of the Middle Ages.

Spain reached the summit of Moslem education during the reign of King
Hakem III. (961-976). This king fostered education, being himself a man
of learning. He had a private library of six hundred thousand volumes.

Education was not confined simply to the higher schools and
universities. There were also a great many elementary schools. The first
work of these was to teach the Koran, which was used as a reading book.
The Koran gives us the most perfect picture of the oriental mind that we
possess. Children of the poor attended school from their fifth till
their eighth year, when they were allowed to go to service. Children of
the rich entered school at their fifth year and remained till their
fourteenth or fifteenth year. After that, if parents could afford it,
boys traveled until their twentieth year, under care of a tutor. This
completed their education. Any person could teach who chose to do so, no
authority fixing the qualifications of teachers.

The Mohammedan schools began to decline in the eleventh century. At