Was the VMS artist a fan of Michael Scot?

[Jorge_Stolfi]

All this happened in the Ottoman Empire, where the literacy rate was less than 5%, perhaps only half of that, and functional literacy barely existed.

I would think that literacy in the Empire varied enormously from region to region.  People in Arabic-speaking countries may have been more likely to read Arabic script, because of the Quran.  Wasn't the Arabic script taught in the Madras?  What percentage of boys would go through them?  

All the best, --stolfi