Research and Scholarship in Madrasas: Some Reflections

By Maulana Abu Ammar Zahid ul-Rashdi
(Extracted from the author’s Urdu book Dini Madaris Ka Nisab-o Nizam [Al-Shariah Academy, Gujranwala, 2007] and edited and translated by Yoginder Sikand)
In order to understand the present state of research and scholarship in madrasas, it is important to locate them in their historical context. Thepresent structure of madrasa education in South Asia is a product ofcolonial times, when British rule led to the rupture of the traditionalMuslim political, economic, military, legal, administrative and educationalsystems. In the wake of this and in response to these new challenges,numerous ulema devised the present system of madrasa education so as toprotect Islamic culture. These new madrasas were intended to protect thefaith and religious identity of Muslims and to maintain and promote thetradition of Islamic learning. Their graduates were to keep mosques andmadrasas alive in their capacity as imams, muftis, teachers and preachers.They were also to combat challenges to Islamic beliefs and culture. Tillnow, the madrasas have been operating in this defensive mode as thesechallenges and threats are not only still alive but are becoming even moresevere with the passage of time. It is in this context that the status ofscholarship and research in South Asia's madrasas must be understood.

The story has two sides to it. On the positive side, several madrasas nowrun dar ul-iftas that supply questioners with fatwas or opinions on a widerange of issues in order to guide them. Many madrasas and their scholarshave produced an immense corpus of Islamic literature in the form of booksand magazines. A few ulema-run institutions have come up in recent yearsthat are pursuing research and scholarship on contemporary issues. Anincreasing number of ulema are now writing on religious issues for'mainstream' newspapers. Several graduates of madrasas in South Asia havegone on to do research in regular universities at home and abroad. And now several madrasas have their own websites on the Internet which provideinformation about these institutions and their schools of thought and guidereaders on religious matters. All this shows that madrasas today are notunmindful of their responsibilities in the field of scholarship andresearch.

But there is another side to the story, or what can be called the negative side. Prime importance is placed in the on-going research work andscholarship in madrasas on sectarian understandings and also on allegianceto key personalities within each school of thought, leaving little space forother issues. The aim of much of this scholarship seems to be to assert theclaim of superiority of one sect over the others, and this is not done in aspirit of genuine dialogue, but, rather, in a fiercely polemical fashion,which often degenerates into ridicule and abuse. Till now madrasas haverefused to benefit from modern methods and styles of research and the workof international research institutions. This is not only because people inthe madrasas are generally not conversant with foreign languages but alsobecause of the deeply-ingrained belief that they are intellectually superiorto the rest of the world and, hence, that they do not need to know about,leave alone benefit from, others. Madrasas seem to imagine that benefitingfrom the intellectual work of others—other Muslim intellectuals, otherIslamic sects and international research institutions—is a negation of theirsense of superiority. This is, in a sense, a reflection of their essentiallydefensive attitude.

Even in research on matters concerning Muslim social issues, madrasasimagine that they must be bound by their sectarian affiliations. Till nowthere has been no effort to bring together leaders and ulema of differentMuslim sects to discuss important issues concerning the entire community andto engage in collective research, reflection and dialogue. There has sadlybeen no collective and organized effort to promote and improve the qualityof research and scholarship in the madrasas. This sort of work is leftmerely to certain individuals who might have an interest in doing so, andtheir patronage, support and guidance is, likewise, done, if at all, on apersonal basis. The conditions of libraries in most madrasas leave much tobe desired. Most madrasas either have no libraries worth the name, and thosethat do have some books lack essential reading and reference material on awide range of subjects. The selection of books for madrasa libraries is alsoguided by the sectarian affiliation of the madrasas and personal whims.A range of necessary and vital disciplines essential for proper research,such as sociology, history, psychology, politics, economics and humancivilizations are not taught in madrasas, and, worse still, their importanceis yet to be appreciated, although these are indispensable if madrasas areto fulfill their objectives. Another major problem is the teaching oflanguages. Leave alone English and other international languages, theteaching of Arabic in most madrasas is also faulty, limited simply to thecomprehension of certain texts. Even after supposedly studying Arabic forseveral years, the vast majority of madrasa students are unable to converse,deliver a speech or write an article properly in that language. Further,even Urdu is not taught in the madrasas as a language and no arrangementsare made for students to familiarize students with modern Urdu idiom and thelanguage and style of contemporary Urdu journalism. Because of this, manymadrasa students and even teachers are not able to even write a two- orthree-page article in Urdu.

In order to remedy the situation, I have some suggestions to make. Firstly,the strong sense of intellectual superiority that has been constructed likea high wall behind which madrasa teachers and students live must beaddressed. We have to come out of that environment and face practicalrealities and accept the fact that besides us others also live in this worldand that they, too, have intellectual and scholarly abilities. We have theright to differ from them but we have no right to deny their existence. Inmy view, madrasas need to understand and benefit from the scholarship andresearch being conducted by national and international Muslim and non-Muslimresearch institutions working on issues with which madrasas are concernedand also from the scholarly work of other Muslim sects and schools ofthought. Madrasa boards, where they exist, must deeply introspect into thematter and devise steps and plans to promote and improve research andscholarly pursuits within their institutions. Furthermore, the leaders ofthe madrasas must take serious cognizance of the growing cultural and otherchallenges facing the Muslims today that threaten Muslim identity,institutions, beliefs, practices and faith. This is happening at the globallevel, and it is something that madrasas must devote their attention to interms of serious research, scholarship and publishing.
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