Historically, formal Islamic education was reserved for the elite men. These men often took responsibility for training their female relatives, who were assigned the task of preaching to women of less fortunate backgrounds. Illiteracy did not preclude religious training, which often entailed listening to sermons and learning didactic poetic texts by heart. Moreover, non-elite men were as likely as women to be illiterate. While both male and female children attended Qurʾān recitation schools for …