Cultures are either preserved or transformed due to educational systems. People that are educated in an educational style will behave correspondingly to the educational goals brought by the educational system.

In spite of the economic situation and the colonialism that halted the spread of education in Iraq, especially during the Ottoman Empire, the people of Karbala insisted on spreading knowledge and culture in the city through small gatherings called Kitateeb in houses, mosques or holy shrines.  

Teachers in the Kitateeb taught various age groups the recitation of the Holy Quran as well as primary Islamic jurisprudence.