[1] The school's administration in Egypt underwent a reorganization in 1836, and Rifāʿa Rāfiʿ aṭ-Ṭahṭāwī was appointed head of the Madrasat al-Alsun in 1837.
[2] At the Madrasat al-Alsun, the European system of education combined with the methods of the ʿulamāʾ.
[2] The school resumed activities in 1863 under Ismaʿīl, and aṭ-Ṭahṭāwī was made its director.
The selection of texts to be translated—in fields such as geography, history, medicine, military sciences, and politics—was the responsibility of aṭ-Ṭahṭāwī in the service of the State and the dynasty of Muḥammad ʿAlī.
[1] In the process of translating these texts, the staff of the Madrasat al-Alsun established the principles of "rendering foreign languages into a clear, modern Arabic idiom" and conceived new Arabic vocabulary to suit novel technical terms and ideas.