The central objective of the research is to understand the diversified systems of Islamic education in Bangladesh based on the case of a local district town—Brahmanbaria. This study also investigates how and in what extent the system of Islamic education is influenced by the Deobandian School of Thought—Ahle Sunnat wal Jammaat—promoted and maintained by a nineteenth century school of Islamic education—Deoband which was established in the Province of Uttar Pradesh in India. This study presumes that Deoband had and has a profound influence on the genre of Islamic education in South Asian countries including Bangladesh.
For such inquests in the context of Bangladesh the fieldwork of the study has been conducted in the east-central district town of Brahmanbaria. In addition with primary field-research done in Brahmanbaria town some other fieldworks have also been conducted in some government and non-government offices and organizations concerned for Islamic education in Bangladesh. Methodologically the study depends on ethnographic field-method employing several data collection procedures such as open-ended interviews, participant observation, key-cultural conversation and textual method. The entire period of the fieldwork was nearly for one and half month, from February 13 to March 27, 2007.
Primarily, the findings of the fieldwork suggest that there are two kinds of madrasas, schools for imparting Islamic education, in Bangladesh: Ali’a and Quawmi or Kharizi’a madrasa. The first type of madrasa is being accommodated in government’s mainstream system of education and managed, operated and funded by government while the Quawmi madrasa functions independently and managed by public charity, religious alms and by endowments. According to Bangladesh Madrasa Education Board, the institution that is responsible for supervising and controlling the Ali’a madrasas in all over the country, established in 1978, the number of Ali’a madrasas is 15,941 in 2006. On the other hand, regarding the number of Quawmi madrasas Bangladesh government has no data available at its hand. In Brahmanbaria district town (that is called Upazilla, a sub-district administrative tier of government) there are 17 Ali’a madrasas while the number of Quawmi madrasas is higher than that. There is a private board of Quawmi madrasa namely edara-e talimi’a functioning under a big Quawmi madrasa—Jamia Islamia Yunusia Madrasa at the center place of Brahmanbaria district town. A number of 69 Quawmi madrasas from all over Bangladesh are affiliated with the private board of which 29 madrasas are located in Brahmanbaria town area. Moreover, there are some other madrasas, which are functioning independently beyond the private board of Quawmi madrasa in Brahmanbaria. The number of such Quawmi madrasas could not be confirmed because of unavailable sources of information. But according to some personal contact with the teachers of madrasas the number of such madrasas could range from 50 to 70 in Brahmanbaria district town and its contiguous areas i.e. Upazilla.
Though the nature of madrasa education in South Asia is diversified in nature in terms of their different schools of thought and of their different sectarian split such as Deobandian, Ahl-i-Hadith, Barelwi, Jamaate Islami and the Shias but the Quawmi madrasas in Brahmanbaria are predominantly Deobandian in nature. During the fieldwork not a single madrasa was found that is morally and principally maintain other school of thought except Deobandian tradition. Like Deoband Madrasa these Quawmi madrasas maintain the principal Islamic thought—Ahle sunnat wal jammaat, which is based on the Koran, the tradition of the Prophet and on the Hanafi madhhab, Islamic school. The influence of Deobandian thought on such madrasas is manifested through their curriculum and in other Islamic activities. Like Deoband these madrasas prioritize on teaching the Koran and its exegesis; fiqh—Islamic law and jurisprudence; and hadith, the tradition of the Prophet. For instance, it was found that the curriculum of Jamia Islamia Yunusia Madrasa is almost identical with the curriculum of Deoband Madrasa. It is said that Jamia Islamia Yunusia Madrasa is the oldest madrasa in Brahmanbaria established in 1914 by a Deobandian follower in the then who came from India namely Mawlana Abu Taher Muhammad Yunus, after whom the Madrasa was named. Then Yunusia Madrasa was headed by another Deobandian—Fakhre Bangal Allama Tazul Islam, who followed by Deobandian graduate Mawlana Sirajul Islam and at present continued by another Deobandian alim, Islamic learned person—Mufti Nurullah. Though currently there is no direct relation with Deoband Madrasa Yunusia Madrasa is still maintaining the tradition of Deobandian school of thought and the graduates of the Madrasa are spreading in different parts of Bangladesh some of whom launch new Quawmi madrasa based on Deobandian principal—Ahle sunnat wal jammaat.
On the contrary, in this research it was found that the Ali’a madrasas in Bangladesh are less influenced by Deobandian school of thought since it is a hybrid system of education comprising both modern and Islamic education. Interestingly enough, the Deobandian follower i.e. graduates of Quawmi madrasas consider Ali’a madrasa’s system of Islamic education as “corrupted” version, as I was told by an interviewee, of Islam since its schooling was first patronized by the British colonizer (the first Ali’a madrasa was established in Calcutta by the British government in 1780) and since it reduces the “important” content of Islamic education. But socially the graduates of Ali'a madrasas are more privileged as compared to the graduates of Quawmi madrasa because the certification of two major degrees—Dakhil, secondary level; and Alim, higher secondary level—are recognized by government system of education. According to an officer of Madrasa Education Board, government is taking necessary steps for recognizing other two major degrees—Fazil, bachelor level; and Kamil, Master level—of Ali’a madrasa. Government is also planning to establish a separate Quwami Madrasa Board responsible for supervising all such madrasas. If it is implemented the principal degree of Quawmi madrasa—Daora hadith, expertise on the tradition of the Prophet would be equivalent to Master level of education. Long before such plan a non-government Quawmi Madrasa Board named by Befaqul Madaris has been functioning independently. The Secretary General of the Board, Mawlana Abdul Jabbar expressed that at present there are two hundred Quawmi madrasas affiliated with the Board from all over the country, all of which Deobandian in nature. According to him if government formally recognize the Quawmi system of education they would not prefer to change their principal nature and its curriculum. Thus, how the system of Quawmi madrasa education will be accommodated in the modern education system is a question of further research.
For such inquests in the context of Bangladesh the fieldwork of the study has been conducted in the east-central district town of Brahmanbaria. In addition with primary field-research done in Brahmanbaria town some other fieldworks have also been conducted in some government and non-government offices and organizations concerned for Islamic education in Bangladesh. Methodologically the study depends on ethnographic field-method employing several data collection procedures such as open-ended interviews, participant observation, key-cultural conversation and textual method. The entire period of the fieldwork was nearly for one and half month, from February 13 to March 27, 2007.
Primarily, the findings of the fieldwork suggest that there are two kinds of madrasas, schools for imparting Islamic education, in Bangladesh: Ali’a and Quawmi or Kharizi’a madrasa. The first type of madrasa is being accommodated in government’s mainstream system of education and managed, operated and funded by government while the Quawmi madrasa functions independently and managed by public charity, religious alms and by endowments. According to Bangladesh Madrasa Education Board, the institution that is responsible for supervising and controlling the Ali’a madrasas in all over the country, established in 1978, the number of Ali’a madrasas is 15,941 in 2006. On the other hand, regarding the number of Quawmi madrasas Bangladesh government has no data available at its hand. In Brahmanbaria district town (that is called Upazilla, a sub-district administrative tier of government) there are 17 Ali’a madrasas while the number of Quawmi madrasas is higher than that. There is a private board of Quawmi madrasa namely edara-e talimi’a functioning under a big Quawmi madrasa—Jamia Islamia Yunusia Madrasa at the center place of Brahmanbaria district town. A number of 69 Quawmi madrasas from all over Bangladesh are affiliated with the private board of which 29 madrasas are located in Brahmanbaria town area. Moreover, there are some other madrasas, which are functioning independently beyond the private board of Quawmi madrasa in Brahmanbaria. The number of such Quawmi madrasas could not be confirmed because of unavailable sources of information. But according to some personal contact with the teachers of madrasas the number of such madrasas could range from 50 to 70 in Brahmanbaria district town and its contiguous areas i.e. Upazilla.
Though the nature of madrasa education in South Asia is diversified in nature in terms of their different schools of thought and of their different sectarian split such as Deobandian, Ahl-i-Hadith, Barelwi, Jamaate Islami and the Shias but the Quawmi madrasas in Brahmanbaria are predominantly Deobandian in nature. During the fieldwork not a single madrasa was found that is morally and principally maintain other school of thought except Deobandian tradition. Like Deoband Madrasa these Quawmi madrasas maintain the principal Islamic thought—Ahle sunnat wal jammaat, which is based on the Koran, the tradition of the Prophet and on the Hanafi madhhab, Islamic school. The influence of Deobandian thought on such madrasas is manifested through their curriculum and in other Islamic activities. Like Deoband these madrasas prioritize on teaching the Koran and its exegesis; fiqh—Islamic law and jurisprudence; and hadith, the tradition of the Prophet. For instance, it was found that the curriculum of Jamia Islamia Yunusia Madrasa is almost identical with the curriculum of Deoband Madrasa. It is said that Jamia Islamia Yunusia Madrasa is the oldest madrasa in Brahmanbaria established in 1914 by a Deobandian follower in the then who came from India namely Mawlana Abu Taher Muhammad Yunus, after whom the Madrasa was named. Then Yunusia Madrasa was headed by another Deobandian—Fakhre Bangal Allama Tazul Islam, who followed by Deobandian graduate Mawlana Sirajul Islam and at present continued by another Deobandian alim, Islamic learned person—Mufti Nurullah. Though currently there is no direct relation with Deoband Madrasa Yunusia Madrasa is still maintaining the tradition of Deobandian school of thought and the graduates of the Madrasa are spreading in different parts of Bangladesh some of whom launch new Quawmi madrasa based on Deobandian principal—Ahle sunnat wal jammaat.
On the contrary, in this research it was found that the Ali’a madrasas in Bangladesh are less influenced by Deobandian school of thought since it is a hybrid system of education comprising both modern and Islamic education. Interestingly enough, the Deobandian follower i.e. graduates of Quawmi madrasas consider Ali’a madrasa’s system of Islamic education as “corrupted” version, as I was told by an interviewee, of Islam since its schooling was first patronized by the British colonizer (the first Ali’a madrasa was established in Calcutta by the British government in 1780) and since it reduces the “important” content of Islamic education. But socially the graduates of Ali'a madrasas are more privileged as compared to the graduates of Quawmi madrasa because the certification of two major degrees—Dakhil, secondary level; and Alim, higher secondary level—are recognized by government system of education. According to an officer of Madrasa Education Board, government is taking necessary steps for recognizing other two major degrees—Fazil, bachelor level; and Kamil, Master level—of Ali’a madrasa. Government is also planning to establish a separate Quwami Madrasa Board responsible for supervising all such madrasas. If it is implemented the principal degree of Quawmi madrasa—Daora hadith, expertise on the tradition of the Prophet would be equivalent to Master level of education. Long before such plan a non-government Quawmi Madrasa Board named by Befaqul Madaris has been functioning independently. The Secretary General of the Board, Mawlana Abdul Jabbar expressed that at present there are two hundred Quawmi madrasas affiliated with the Board from all over the country, all of which Deobandian in nature. According to him if government formally recognize the Quawmi system of education they would not prefer to change their principal nature and its curriculum. Thus, how the system of Quawmi madrasa education will be accommodated in the modern education system is a question of further research.
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