Madrasa El Bechiria ( ar, المدرسة البشيرية) is one of the

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

hs of the medina of Tunis., which was constructed during the Husainid Dynasty and was attached to a zawiya.

Etymology

The madrasa is named after

Sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

Mohamed Al Bechir Al Zouaoui ( ar, محمد البشير الزواوي), who was an important

Rahmaniyya The Raḥmâniyya (Arabic: الرحمانية) is an Algerian Sufi order (tariqa or brotherhood) founded by Kabyle religious scholar Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥman al-Azhari Bu Qabrayn in the 1770s. It was initially a branch of the Khalwat ...

tariqa A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking ''haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth". ...

scholar, who died in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

in 1826.

Location

The madrasa is located on the Sidi El Bechir Street, in the southern suburb of the medina of Tunis.

History

The madrasa was dedicated to students from the

Zouaoua Igawawen or Gawawa, mostly known as Zwawa (in Kabyle: Igawawen, in Arabic: زواوة, and in Latin: Jubaleni''Revue archéologique, Société française d'archéologie classique'' (in French), p. 28) were a group of Kabyle tribes inhabiting the ...

tribe who followed the Rahmaniyya tariqa. It was built with a mausoleum in 1824 (1240 Hijri) by

Al-Husayn II ibn Mahmud Al-Husayn II ibn Mahmud (; 5 March 1784 – 20 May 1835) was the Bey of Tunis from 1824 until his death in 1835. He was of a Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an e ...

. It was managed by the son of Sheikh Al Bechir after his death.

Description

The madrasa contains seven rooms and a mosque.

Evolution

After the

Tunisian independence Tunisian independence was a process that occurred from 1952 to 1956 between France and a separatist movement, led by Habib Bourguiba. He became the first Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia after negotiations with France successfully had br ...

, this madrasa was destroyed as part of restorations on Sidi El Bechir Street.

Students

Among students of this madarsa, we can find the historian

Ahmad ibn Abi Diyaf Ahmad ibn Abi Diyaf ( ar, أحمد بن أبي الضياف) (1804, Tunis – 1874), known colloquially as Bin Diyaf, was the author of a chronicle of History of Tunisia, Tunisian history; he was also a long-time and trusted official in the Beyli ...

who assisted

tafsir Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...

classes (

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

explanations) taught by Al Bechir in person.

Bibliography

References

{{Coord missing, Tunisia Bechiria