A number of books have been recently published on the madrasas of India, and,
in addition to this, madrasas have become a subject of considerable debate in
the mass media. This latest addition to the writings on Indian madrasas makes a
valuable contribution to our understanding of the subject.

The issue of madrasa reform is much debated today, and several of the articles
in this volume examine the question from various angles. The opening article of
the volume, titled ‘A Day in Deoband’, based on the author’s visit to the
Dar ul-Ulum madrasa in Deoband, India’s largest madrasa, suggests that even
many traditionalist ulema, wrongly berated as being wholly opposed to change,
actually do support madrasa reforms to some extent, although the way in which
they imagine the project of reform substantially differs from that advocated by
many outside the madrasa system. This emerges even more clearly in the following
article, titled ‘The State and Madrasa Reform: An Indian Deobandi
Perspective’. The point is reiterated in subsequent articles, such as one on a
Deobandi madrasa in Kashmir which is engaged in providing new forms of technical
education in addition to traditional religious instruction, another on
traditionalist madrasas in Kerala
that have launched innovative experiments to combine religious and secular
education, and yet another, on the educational model of the founder of the
Jamaat-e Islami, Syed Abul Ala Maududi. A piece on the growing number of
women’s madrasas in India makes the argument that promoting women’s rights
from within a broader Islamic paradigm is also part of the project of madrasa
reforms as even several traditionalist ulema see it. The author argues that this
might have important consequences in the future for the nature of religious
authority as well as gender-relations among the Indian Muslims.

At the same time as these articles hail little-known efforts at madrasa reform,
they also highlight the views of several Muslim activists, including some ulema
themselves, who are uncomfortable with what they see as the slow pace of reform
and its limited nature and scope. This is particularly apparent in matters
related to issues such as inter-sectarian relations, relations with non-Muslims,
and also in enhancing the role of the community in the functioning of and the
decision-making process in the madrasas, many of which are, now, in effect,
family-controlled businesses.

Three articles included in the book deal with the issue of how the Indian
madrasas and their ulema have sought to respond to the mounting wave of
propaganda directed against them, being accused of being alleged training
grounds for ‘terrorism’. Sikand argues that these allegations are unfounded
and unsubstantiated. He notes that the ulema have sought to rebut these
allegations, but, because they have failed to reach out significantly to
non-Muslims, their views continue to go unheard outside the community. To add to
this is the fact that large sections of the media appear to have a vested
interest in perpetuating negative stereotypical images of the madrasas as
‘dens of terror’ despite evidence to the contrary. At the same time, Sikand
writes that the relentless anti-madrasa propaganda has had some unintended
positive fall-outs. As a perusal of the madrasa press and the recent activities
of some leading ulema bodies indicates, madrasas in India
are becoming increasingly conscious of the need for curricular and
administrative reform, establishing rapport with non-Muslims and government
officials, maintaining proper accounts and so on, this being, in large part, a
reaction to the anti-madrasa propaganda.

Although the information that book supplies is interesting, it lacks an overall
central focus and a connecting thread that could weave together the thirteen
short essays contained in the book (in addition to a section containing reviews
of selected recent books on madrasa education in India). A rigorously argued and
analytical introduction would have made the book seem less like a random
collection of articles. At times, the reader gets the feeling that the author is
unnecessarily wary of expressing his own views and is also hesitant to offer any
substantial critique for fear of appearing too harsh on the ulema. Yet, all said
and done, the book makes interesting and rewarding reading.
Reviewed by: Nasir Khan