Between Tradition and Transition: An Islamic Seminary, or Dar al-Uloom in Modern Britain

Abstract

Based on detailed ethnographic fieldwork, this article provides an insider account of life inside a British Dar al-Uloom, or a traditional Islamic religious seminary, for the first time. Given that Dar al-Ulooms play an important role in the British Muslim landscape in providing training for religious leadership, the article argues that, far from the Dar al-Uloom tradition being static, it is undergoing continuous adaptation and change. After mapping the historical and geographical lineage of the modern Dar al-Uloom, the article explores its pedagogy. The postural tradition and adab (broadly translated as comportment or code of behavior) embody the notion of humility, as the classroom has become the locale for balancing a curriculum with depth and coverage, especially given the challenges young Muslims in Britain are facing. The current students of the Dar al-Uloom will become imams and faith leaders primarily responsible for addressing the changing needs of young Muslims. What has emerged is a traditional Dar al-Uloom that is in a dialogical relationship both with the modern world outside of it and within it. There is the need to embody a ‘tarbiyyatic pedagogy’ that is one that emphasises the student-teacher relationship where the student is transformed in the process of learning while interpreting Islam through the lens of the Deobandi universe. Ultimately, it will be the younger generation of teachers who determine the particular trajectory of the Dar al-Uloom.

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“I thought in order to get to God I had to win their approval”: a qualitative analysis of the experiences of Muslim victims abused by religious authority figures

“…The participant from Pakistan was deemed appropriate for inclusion due to the international interlinking nature. The UK Darul Uloom and Madrasah syllabus and structure were founded upon the dars-e-nizami structure within South-Asian countries, with many firstand second-generation Imams / religious teachers undertaking their training internationally (Sidat, 2018). The occurrence of abuse internationally therefore sets the precedence for UK seminary-based abuse.…”

Assessing Muslim Higher Education and Training Institutions (METIs) and Islamic Studies Provision in Universities in Britain: An Analysis of Training Provision for Muslim Religious Leadership after 9/11

“…From Geaves' (2008, pp. 107-10), Mahmood's (2012), and Sidat's (2018) work, it becomes evident that even amongst the graduates of these METIs there is some discontent. Mahmood (2012) contends that the Dars-e-Nizami model is imported wholesale from the subcontinent, where it had been formerly transplanted from the Arab world in the aftermath of the sacking of Baghdad in 1258.…”

“…This would mean that, just as Moosa (2015, p. 53) found to be the case in India, not all graduates of British METIs would be contemplating a full-time imamate or teaching position, and would simply aim to apply their knowledge and moral training in their daily lives. The primary purpose of such institutions, therefore, is to cultivate piety and instil religious values in their students, referred to in the literature as a 'self-development focus' (Gilliat-Ray 2006), 'Taqlid-e-Shakhsi' (Mahmood 2012), an 'otherworldly trend' (Moosa 2015), and a 'tarbiyyatic pedagogy' (Sidat 2018).…”