[Reader-list] A Madrasa with a Difference

[Prashant]

If you read the responses of the so called 'modern clergy', you will see that there is a distinction being made about the morally good modernity and morally corrupt modernity. This is typical of half baked ideas of secularism being accepted, wherein the traditions cannot be challenged on the grounds of tolerance. In fact many traditions of hindu life are to be challenged too and one is surprised that these orthodoxies are not event entering the discussions. There is clearly a class issue which is neglected. So the women are to decide how to be huh. What if a majority of women say they want to carry on with obnoxious traditions? What then? Difference for difference's sake becomes a mantra for upholding community values and not one for an individual to challenge not just the extreme orthodoxies but those that are current in everyday life. 

There is no point in potraying religious education as secular. There is a point however in breaking the trope of the Madrassa as a tarining camp for future terrorists and extremists. 

Perhaps a more worrysome case is that of the Safron Schools like the Vidya Bharati network of schools, whose self-professed vision is "To develop a  national system of education which may mould the posterity into such a youthful generation as fully saturated with the feelings of Hindutva and patriotism, having completely attained all-round physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual development".

This is a much bigger network. It has about 6000 schools under its arm. The Vidya Bharati also controls some 60 colleges and 25 higher education institutions. Frontline did a cover on these schools in 1998. But they do not seem to draw the deserved flak from society. 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: MRSG 
  To: Yogi Sikand ; reader-list at sarai.net 
  Sent: Friday, July 27, 2007 11:44 AM
  Subject: Re: [Reader-list] A Madrasa with a Difference


  First the dignity of veil, then a secular Huriayat which loves Hindus and Buddhist and now a Modern Madrasa. Hope all these can be considered as a comic relief for serious reader-list netizens.



  ----- Original Message ----- 

    From: Yogi Sikand 

    To: reader-list at sarai.net 

    Sent: Friday, July 27, 2007 10:01 AM

    Subject: [Reader-list] A Madrasa with a Difference




A Madrasa with a DifferenceYoginder SikandContrary 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 theportals of the more conservative madrasas, such as thevast network of Deobandi seminaries spread across the
country. One such instance is the recently-establishedJamia ul-Umoor, in New Delhi's Muslim-dominated AbulFazl locality. Set up in 2005, the Jamia ul-Umoor is the brainchildof 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 theirmid-twenties and represent a new generation ofDeobandi scholars eager to embrace and promote modern
knowledge along with traditional Islamic learning.After having received their degree from Deoband theyenrolled 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 Jamiaul-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 beingexposed to a whole new world of learning. The two-yearcourse that they are undergoing consists of lessons inEnglish, Computers, Economics, History, Geography,
Mathematics, Management, Political Science, PhysicalSciences, Journalism and Comparative Religions—allsubjects that they have had little or no exposure toin their years at Deoband. Judging by the ease with
which the students converse in English, despite havingstudied it for less than half a year, they seem to befast 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 beingprompted by his teachers, Tauqir Qasmi, who has justturned twenty, stands up and delivers an impassionedspeech in Arabic on the importance of modern education
and on how Islam positively encourages it. Hiscolleague, Aslam Rafiqi Qasmi, follows after him, witha remarkably clear speech in English on the problemsof 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, hesays, 'continue to pay a heavy price for thePartition', being 'wrongly branded as
anti-nationals by many Hindus'. He refers to theliterally thousands of Muslims who have lost theirlives in hundreds of organized pogroms and riots inIndia since 1947, and of the discrimination that they
continue to face in many spheres. He ends his speechby stressing the need for Muslims to take to bothreligious as well as modern education. The welcome addresses over, I sit with the studentsand discuss their studies. One of them wants to know
how to secure admission in the English department ofthe university I teach in. Another wants to know howhe can get the articles he has written published inthe Times of India. A third asks me, in impeccable
English, 'Why are Muslims, especially the ulema ofDeoband, thought of as terrorists by many, while theyhad actually played a leading role in India'santi-colonial struggle?'. The students and their teachers insist that the
Deobandi elders are not against modern education perse, as is commonly imagined. Hasan, a young studentfrom 
Bihar, argues, 'Islam says that all beneficialknowledge can be acquired and so our ulema have neveropposed what is good in the modern educational system.What they were opposed to, however, was Western
culture. We can and, indeed, should acquire knowledgeof all the beneficial modern disciplines, providedthis is done according to our culture and that ithelps us become better Muslims'. Ali, anotherstudent, adds, 'In Islam, there is no distinction
between religious and secular education. All forms ofbeneficial knowledge should be had'. Says anotherstudent, Abdur Rahman, 'Learning English, ComputerApplications and other modern subjects will help us in
our task to telling others about Islam'. Maulana Furqan, senior teacher, nods his head inagreement. He tells me that three graduates of Jamiaul-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 graduatesto go on to join universities and then take up a range
of careers, not necessarily as maulvis or religiousspecialists', he says. 'In the past, madrasasproduced both ulema as well architects, astronomers,scientists and so on', he informs me, 'and  so wemust go back to that holistic conception of education
and bridge the gulf between the ulema and those whohave studied in universities'. 'Working in variousfields, and not just as maulvis, our students can playan important role in promoting social reforms as well
as communicating the message of Islam to others', headds. 'In today's world, you need to know Englishin order to tell others about Islam. Also, there is awealth of useful knowledge in English', he explains.
'Hence', he stresses, 'it is important thatmaulvis, too, must learn the language'. I ask Maulana Khalid Saifullah what he feels about theargument of some conservative maulvis that madrasastudents should not enroll in colleges for fear that
they might go astray.'It depends on the individual student', heanswers. 'If the students' moral and religioustraining is sound, there is no reason to fear thattheir faith would weaken if they join universities. In
fact, they might have a positive impact on otherstudents, who might, by witnessing their example, seekto come closer to religion'. 'To further strengthen their commitment to thefaith', 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, theywill learn to devote themselves to the faith, ratherthan 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 hifzcourse to memorise the Quran. In contrast to mostother institutions that specialize in hifz, thestudents here must also study English, Mathematics and
Science. He also refers to his plans to arrange forhis students to simultaneously enroll for the tenthgrade examinations, so that after they finish theircourse they can join various different departments in
regular universities. 'Our ulema must keepthemselves abreast of modern knowledge andcontemporary developments', he stresses. 'That isessential for them to provide proper leadership to thecommunity'.
Innovative madrasas like the Jamia ul-Umoor areincreasingly visible today, although the media rarely,if ever, refers to them. These institutions indicatethe possibility of bridging the rigid dualism thatcharacterizes Muslim education, between the ulema and
those who have studied in 'modern' institutions,something crucial for promoting education amongMuslims more generally.------------------------------------------Yoginder Sikand works with the Centre for 
JawaharlalNehru Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, 
New Delhi

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