Mosques as Non-Formal Education Institution in Akcaabat Town (18th Century)

The Akcaabat district was composed of Akcaabat and Yomra in the Ottoman State. Akçaabat was conquered by the Ottoman State. Islam began to spread in the villages of Akçaabat. Thus, the Muslim population has increased the need for institutions to provide the education and training services of Islam. For this reason, non-formal educational institutions in the villages of Akçaabat and their operation were chosen as the research problem. The researches were carried out on the establishment of the mosques in Akçaabat villages, the selection of their places, the interaction between the state and the society in the meantime, and the paths pursued for the sustainability of these institutions. XVIII. century limited and out of the center of the settlements formed the scope. Qualitative research method-historical document analysis was used in the study. Research Dictionaries of the General Directorate of Foundations were used as basis. In order to increase the validity and reliability of the study, the Archives of the General Directorate of the Ottoman Archives used research and other sources. The limitations of the research consisted of the periodic deficiencies in the historical documents and the discrepancies between the events. As a result, it has been determined that there are 94 mosques operating as a non-formal educational institution and its operation has been realized within certain rules.