[Reader-list] A Madrasa with a Difference

[Yogi Sikand]

A Madrasa with a Difference

Yoginder Sikand



Contrary to how the media generally portrays them,
madrasas in India are not entirely opposed to reform.
Indeed, the winds of change are being felt even in the
portals of the more conservative madrasas, such as the
vast network of Deobandi seminaries spread across the
country. One such instance is the recently-established
Jamia ul-Umoor, in New Delhi's Muslim-dominated Abul
Fazl locality.

Set up in 2005, the Jamia ul-Umoor is the brainchild
of two young graduates of the Dar ul-Ulum, Deoband,
India's largest and most influential madrasa.
Maulanas Khalid Saifullah Qasmi and Azmatullah Qasmi,
the men behind this venture, are both in their
mid-twenties and represent a new generation of
Deobandi scholars eager to embrace and promote modern
knowledge along with traditional Islamic learning.
After having received their degree from Deoband they
enrolled at the Dar ul-Umoor, in Srirangapatanam, near
Mysore, for a year's course in a range of
'modern' disciplines.


Like their teachers, the twenty-odd students at Jamia
ul-Umoor are all graduates of the Deoband madrasa.
Having completed a rigorous eight-year course in
Islamic Studies there, in the Jamia they are now being
exposed to a whole new world of learning. The two-year
course that they are undergoing consists of lessons in
English, Computers, Economics, History, Geography,
Mathematics, Management, Political Science, Physical
Sciences, Journalism and Comparative Religions—all
subjects that they have had little or no exposure to
in their years at Deoband. Judging by the ease with
which the students converse in English, despite having
studied it for less than half a year, they seem to be
fast and eager learners and their five teachers,
zealous instructors.


The students, neatly dressed in spotless kurta-pajamas
and topis, sit in a circle on a large quilt. On being
prompted by his teachers, Tauqir Qasmi, who has just
turned twenty, stands up and delivers an impassioned
speech in Arabic on the importance of modern education
and on how Islam positively encourages it. His
colleague, Aslam Rafiqi Qasmi, follows after him, with
a remarkably clear speech in English on the problems
of the Indian Muslims. He refers to the 'shameful
and lamentable' Partition of India and the
'massive and most horrendous' killings of Hindus,
Muslims and Sikhs that ensued. The Indian Muslims, he
says, 'continue to pay a heavy price for the
Partition', being 'wrongly branded as
anti-nationals by many Hindus'. He refers to the
literally thousands of Muslims who have lost their
lives in hundreds of organized pogroms and riots in
India since 1947, and of the discrimination that they
continue to face in many spheres. He ends his speech
by stressing the need for Muslims to take to both
religious as well as modern education.

 The welcome addresses over, I sit with the students
and discuss their studies. One of them wants to know
how to secure admission in the English department of
the university I teach in. Another wants to know how
he can get the articles he has written published in
the Times of India. A third asks me, in impeccable
English, 'Why are Muslims, especially the ulema of
Deoband, thought of as terrorists by many, while they
had actually played a leading role in India's
anti-colonial struggle?'.

The students and their teachers insist that the
Deobandi elders are not against modern education per
se, as is commonly imagined. Hasan, a young student
from Bihar, argues, 'Islam says that all beneficial
knowledge can be acquired and so our ulema have never
opposed what is good in the modern educational system.
What they were opposed to, however, was Western
culture. We can and, indeed, should acquire knowledge
of all the beneficial modern disciplines, provided
this is done according to our culture and that it
helps us become better Muslims'. Ali, another
student, adds, 'In Islam, there is no distinction
between religious and secular education. All forms of
beneficial knowledge should be had'. Says another
student, Abdur Rahman, 'Learning English, Computer
Applications and other modern subjects will help us in
our task to telling others about Islam'.

Maulana Furqan, senior teacher, nods his head in
agreement. He tells me that three graduates of Jamia
ul-Umoor's first batch, which passed out last year,
are now studying at a regular university, the Jamia
Millia Islamia, in New Delhi. 'We want our graduates
to go on to join universities and then take up a range
of careers, not necessarily as maulvis or religious
specialists', he says. 'In the past, madrasas
produced both ulema as well architects, astronomers,
scientists and so on', he informs me, 'and  so we
must go back to that holistic conception of education
and bridge the gulf between the ulema and those who
have studied in universities'. 'Working in various
fields, and not just as maulvis, our students can play
an important role in promoting social reforms as well
as communicating the message of Islam to others', he
adds. 'In today's world, you need to know English
in order to tell others about Islam. Also, there is a
wealth of useful knowledge in English', he explains.
'Hence', he stresses, 'it is important that
maulvis, too, must learn the language'.

I ask Maulana Khalid Saifullah what he feels about the
argument of some conservative maulvis that madrasa
students should not enroll in colleges for fear that
they might go astray.

'It depends on the individual student', he
answers. 'If the students' moral and religious
training is sound, there is no reason to fear that
their faith would weaken if they join universities. In
fact, they might have a positive impact on other
students, who might, by witnessing their example, seek
to come closer to religion'.

'To further strengthen their commitment to the
faith', he adds, 'we arrange for pious Sufi
scholars to come here to interact with the students,
so that, by being in the company of men of God, they
will learn to devote themselves to the faith, rather
than to the pleasures of the world'.

Maulana Saifullah tells me about the 25 other students
of the Jamia ul-Umoor, who are enrolled in the hifz
course to memorise the Quran. In contrast to most
other institutions that specialize in hifz, the
students here must also study English, Mathematics and
Science. He also refers to his plans to arrange for
his students to simultaneously enroll for the tenth
grade examinations, so that after they finish their
course they can join various different departments in
regular universities. 'Our ulema must keep
themselves abreast of modern knowledge and
contemporary developments', he stresses. 'That is
essential for them to provide proper leadership to the
community'.

Innovative madrasas like the Jamia ul-Umoor are
increasingly visible today, although the media rarely,
if ever, refers to them. These institutions indicate
the possibility of bridging the rigid dualism that
characterizes Muslim education, between the ulema and
those who have studied in 'modern' institutions,
something crucial for promoting education among
Muslims more generally.
------------------------------------------

Yoginder Sikand works with the Centre for Jawaharlal
Nehru Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20070727/425efd30/attachment.html