Travelling Islam – Madrasa Graduates from India and Pakistan in the Malay Archipelago

19 Pages·2013·0.28 MB·English

papers
W O R K I N G
No. 8, 2013
Travelling Islam – Madrasa Graduates from
India and Pakistan in the Malay Archipelago
Dietrich Reetz, ZMO
Abstract Yemen, the religious schools from India and Pakis-
The phenomenon of travelling religious traditions tan are less acknowledged as a source of religious
has attracted the attention of various scholars, but knowledge and inspiration.
a differentiated understanding of its nature and In Islamic teaching, influences from other re-
impact is still lacking. This essay addresses the gions go back to strong networks of personal and
transnational and transregional impact of edu- institutional links that build around particular rea-
cational traditions in Islam in the South-South dings and interpretations of Islam. They developed
direction. It traces the impact of two education over the centuries with the spread of Islamic beliefs
networks based in South Asia on Islamic learning and practices, but also through economic and social
in South East Asia. Both the modernist institutions interaction by traders, seafarers and pilgrims. The
of the International Islamic University and the Hadhrami connections to South Yemen owe much
conservative Deoband schools together with the of their emergence to those economic and social
affiliated Tablighi Jama'at have made significant traditions (Freitag 1997). The importance of the Al
headway in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Azhar school in Egypt for South East Asian Mus-
beyond. The case study argues that the impact lims probably has more to do with its central place
is far from unidirectional and more multifaceted in the history of Muslim reformism (Abaza 1994).
than often assumed. It is largely shaped by the so- Saudi Arabia’s Islamic universities and theological
cial and cultural experience of local society and influence have been driven by a particular interpre-
driven by its needs, rather than by a transnational tation of Islam, by a travelling model of reading and
agenda. practicing Islamic injunctions derived from Salafi
and Wahhabi roots (Hasan 2006).
Introduction1 The reasons why Islamic schools from South Asia,
Although South Asia played an important role as both traditional and modern, have developed bran-
a transit point for cultural and religious traditions ches and doctrinal influence in South East Asia are
that came to South East Asia, it is not widely known more complex (cf. Reetz 2010b). The South Asian
that Islamic schools in India and Pakistan continue school formats combine all the elements seen in
to hold a distinct attraction for Muslims from South the Yemeni, Egyptian and Saudi cases: social and
East Asia even today. While it is common knowledge economic networking, historical connections and
that a considerable number of Muslims from Indo- the attraction of particular interpretations of Is-
nesia, Malaysia and other parts of South East Asia lam. »Traditional« and »modern« can only be used
are influenced by Islamic teaching from Egypt and here in relation to each other and not as absolutes.
Modernity is understood here in the context of the
debate on multiple and alternate modernities led by
1 The paper has benefitted from critical reading by Farish scholars such as Eisenstadt (2000), Al-Azmeh (1993)
A. Noor and Iqbal Sevea at the Rajaratnam School of Inter- and Sachsenmeier (2002). They suggested that the
national Studies (RSIS), Singapore, as well as by Kai Kresse path to structural differentiation in modern life can-
and Marloes Janson at the ZMO Berlin. Technical terms deri-
not be subsumed under the cultural programme of
ved from Arabic, Urdu or Malay/Indonesian have been used
the West alone, stressing that many if not most ethnic
in their local, Latinized and Anglicized versions.
Kirchweg 33, D-14129 Berlin
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and religious movements are addressing »present-day whereas the groups from South East Asia remained
social and political needs« (ibid., 105) while following largely confined to their own region.
their traditions. It therefore seems more useful to un- This paper relies on research that has been con-
derstand »modern« and »traditional« as different de- ducted since 2001, first in South Asia and since 2005
grees and formats of differentiation and orientation intermittently in South East Asia, primarily in Indone-
towards the present. Applied to Islamic school sys- sia, Malaysia and Singapore. Situated on the borders
tems, the modern and traditional schools themselves of macro-oriented political science research, micro-
embody multiple modernities, because the traditional focused anthropological and cultural inquiries and
schools apply different cultural idioms, formats and text-based Islamic Studies, it combines documentary
degrees in addressing the present. In doing so they evidence from archives such as the Deoband Darul
are not necessarily less effective in preparing their ‘Ulum with a selection of qualitative interviews from
students for global and social differentiation. the field and published secondary material. The aim
The two South Asian Islamic school systems that is to gradually reconstruct the outlines of a transre-
are most successful in connecting with South East gional space of discourse and interaction of Islamic
Asia are the conservative and traditional madrasas actors from South Asia within the non-economic
following the curriculum of the Darul ‘Ulum Deoband spheres of globalisation, creating what this author el-
in North India and the modernist International Isla- sewhere described as »Alternate Globalities« (Reetz
mic University in Islamabad, Pakistan. The Deoband 2010b). This research is meant to show that and how
school represents the conventional madrasa system. actors and institutions from the Global South reclaim
It serves as an example of a more traditional, con- their subjectivities from the process of globalisation,
servative approach focusing exclusively on classical which is often considered heavily weighted in favour
texts and subjects of Islamic knowledge mainly deri- of the Global North and dominated by economics and
ved from the Qur’an and the Prophetic Traditions, the finance. In order to connect the local with the global,
Hadith. With some minor exceptions, the Deobandi the paper will offer generalised assumptions about
schools largely avoid teaching modern subjects. By both the local evidence and its transregional impact
contrast, the International Islamic University opera- that remain subject to future revision by new data.
tes more like any modern university offering secular In this way, the analysis itself is a discursive process
education, besides providing religious knowledge and that will continue beyond this article. It connects with
an environment of Islamic moral values and practi- similar work undertaken by this author on the impact
ces. While Deoband has had many foreign students of Tablighi and Deobandi networks in South Asia and
for many years, though this has significantly fallen off in other regions such as South Africa, Western Euro-
after 9/11, the International Islamic University still pe and Central Asia.2
hosts a large number of international students. Both But this research not only aims at the political
attracted considerable numbers of students from subjectivities of Muslim actors. It also searches for
South East Asia to the extent that the foreign student the evolution of their religious subjectivities. It asks
contingent from this region was the largest group of what happens to religious traditions when they tra-
foreign students from outside South Asia there. The vel from one cultural and regional context to ano-
Deoband school also influenced a number of Islamic ther. Here it connects with Mandaville’s inquiry into
schools in Malaysia and Indonesia where Deobandi transnational Muslim politics (Mandaville 2003)
graduates took up teaching or where they took the where he speaks of travelling Islam (ibid., 203) while
founding initiative. The South East Asian graduates looking at particular traditions marked by local and
of the Nadwa-tul-‘Ulum in Lucknow, India formed regional histories of formation. The Deobandi and
another channel of interaction in the area of Islamic Tablighi networks stand for a whole range of Muslim
education, though to a lesser extent than Deoband. traditions that managed to transcend the regional
The International Islamic University in Islamabad and cultural parameters of their emergence. The
closely interacts with its sister institution in Malaysia, current paper is an effort to trace this transregional
exchanging students, teachers and concepts. That in- transformation in the example of specific groups.
teraction is ideologically paired with close relations This paper will first introduce the Islamic tradi-
between the Jama‘at-i Islami (Islamic Party – JI) and tions from South Asia that have become global ac-
the PAS (Parti Islam Se-Malaysia – Pan Malaysian tors and then discuss the place of South East Asian
Islamic Party) in Malaysia. students in some of their South Asian schools. The
In addition, the reformist Ahmadiyya sect from institutional and personal impact of this relation-
South Asia, regarded by many Sunni groups as ship will be traced in case studies of Deobandi and
heretical, gained influence in the region, mainly Nadwi teaching in Malaysia and Indonesia and an
in Indonesia (ahmadiyya.or.id). So did the Khoja Is- exploration of profiles of Malaysian and Indonesian
mailis following the Aga Khan, which are present in graduates from South Asian madrasas.
Singapore and Malaysia.
It is remarkable that most Muslim traditions and
2 For the author’s work on Tablighi and Deobandi networks
sects that emerged in South Asia managed to have
in South Asia, cf. Reetz 2006, 2007, 2008, on South Africa
an impact beyond the borders of the subcontinent, idem 2011, on Europe idem 2010c.
ZMO Working Papers 8 · D. Reetz · Travelling Islam· 2013 2
The South Asian Islamic traditions and their The most widely known subsidiary Deobandi net-
transnational expansion
work is the pietist missionary movement of the
The travelling Islam from South Asia is a product Tablighi Jama‘at (TJ) that was founded near Delhi
of strong transnational connections among the in 1927 but has since spread around the globe. In
South Asian Muslim groups and sects. They expan- theological terms, the madrasa network surroun-
ded even before the advent of British rule in India ding the Nawatul-‘Ulum school in Lucknow (1893)
not only on the back of Sufi connections among reli- is close to Deobandi teaching and also provides si-
gious scholars and their disciples, but also through milar courses for religious scholars (alims) while
Muslim trading castes. Their expansion was further being somewhat more urban and elite-oriented
facilitated through the interconnections within the (Reetz 2007, Metcalf 1982, Masud 2000).
British Empire, which formed a global system of cul-
ture, economy and social relations of its own type. • Barelwi groups relate to the devotional tradi-
Since then, the Muslim sects and groups from South tion of Sufi-associated Sunni scholars and schools
Asia have established branches in most parts of the that centred on the activities of Ahmad Raza Khan
world, including South East Asia. Barelwi (1856-1921) in the town of Bareilly in
The major players in this field are networks of re- North India. They have probably expanded within
ligious scholars and schools with their religious and parameters similar to those of the Deobandis.
political groups and parties creating separate tra- Their main raison d’être was the defence of spi-
ditions or milieus within South Asian Islam that go ritual rituals against the reformist critique of the
back to centres and activists in North India before Deobandis and others. The doctrinal differences
independence. These milieus have acquired partly between the two are small; both follow orthodox
hereditary, endogamous features of sects or clans adherence (taqlid) to the Hanafi law school. But
with a large and continuously growing number of the Barelwis emphasize Sufi traditions such as
subsidiary outlets. Their missionary efforts are di- special praise for the Prophet and the worship of
rected as much toward non-Muslims as toward each saints and their shrines, all of which they justify
other in the struggle for a larger share and control with reference to the Qur’an and the Prophetic tra-
of the »Islamic field«. The term is used here with ditions, the Hadith. Their cultural style has been
reference to Bourdieu’s theory of the religious field exuberant and lavish, and their politics were often
as an arena where salvation goods are being produ- marked by loyalty to the powers that be during the
ced, distributed and consumed as a form of cultural colonial period and towards the independent secu-
capital. According to him, this arena is marked as a lar state thereafter. In the political arena, they are
site of »objective contestation of the monopoly over represented by the Jami‘yat-e Ulama-e Pakistan
the administration of the sacred« among agents or (JUP, 1948, Party of Religious Scholars of Pakis-
institutions over power to consecrate values and tan). Globally, many Barelwi institutions network
beliefs (Bourdieu 1991). He not only highlighted the through the World Islamic Mission (WIM, www.
»plurality of meaning and function« in dogmas and wimnet.org/). Its missionary movement »Dawat-i Is-
institutions, but also the underlying economic and lami«, emulating the Tablighi Jama‘at, established
cultural tensions in diverse social contexts where a presence in many countries and serves a global
they are applied (Ibid., 19). diaspora (Sanyal 1996, Gugler 2011).
For South Asia, the major traditions that went
global are the following: • The rather modernist Jama‘at-i Islami (JI, Is-
lamic Party – www.jamaat.org) network centres
• Deobandi scholars and schools refer to the pu- on the JI political party created in British India
rist and reformist interpretation of Sunni Islam of in 1941 and the legacy of its founder Syed Abu’l
the Hanafi law school formulated at the Islamic Ala Maududi (1903-79). The JI is an important po-
school (Darul ‘Ulum) of Deoband in North India, litical player in Pakistan and Bangladesh, while
which was founded in 1867. The cultural style of remaining a cultural and religious organization in
the Deobandis has been rigorous and text-based India. Its cultural style is modern and technical, its
fighting against »impermissible innovations« political style is issue-based and power-oriented.
(bid‘a) and for the »true Islam«. This leads them to The objective is to establish political and cultural
make polemical attacks on most other traditions hegemony, to form the government and rule the
of Islam, but also against non-Muslims. Their po- country in much the same way as the Hindu natio-
litical approach is split between oppositional pole- nalist BJP did in India, which has greatly inspired
mics and a pietist yearning for learning. It attrac- them. The JI has inspired or heavily influenced a
ted international attention for its close relations number of international institutions, among them
with the Afghan Taliban, which shares its reliance the International Islamic Universities in Pakistan
on Deobandi doctrine. Today, Islamic schools fol- and Malaysia, which were founded as part of the
lowing the Deobandi curriculum have emerged in Islamization of Knowledge project (Nasr 1994,
several parts of the world, such as Great Britain, Reetz 2010a).
South Africa, North America and South East Asia.
ZMO Working Papers 8 · D. Reetz · Travelling Islam· 2013 3
• The Ahl-i Hadith (AH, People of the Tradition) These religious traditions and networks expan-
scholars and schools represent a minority purist ded into separate religio-cultural milieus with a
Sunni sect rejecting all law schools but privileging large number of derivative organisations and in-
the Prophetic traditions (Hadith). They formed in stitutions. For the propagation of their respective
the North Indian provinces of Punjab and United interpretations of Islam, they created NGO-type
Provinces at the turn of the 20th century. They are institutions devoted to religious education and
known for their strong orientation towards Saudi missionary activities. In the political field we find
Arabia and their affiliation with Salafi networks. parties run by religious scholars (ulama) of all per-
Their party (Markazi Ahl-i Hadith, www.ahlehadith. suasions. Several spawned or hosted youth, student
org) consists of several factions. The AH network and women’s groups, some created affiliated sec-
is polarized between a scholarly and a more radi- tarian and militant outfits, so-called jihadi groups,
cal, militant wing. Internationally it has expanded which originally served as party militias.
to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states (Riexinger
2004, Zahab 2009). The students from South East Asia in the
Islamic schools of South Asia
• The minority sect of the Ahmadiyya founded While the historical connections between the
by Ghulam Ahmad Mirza (1839-1908) also emer- spread of Islam in South Asia and in South East
ged in Punjab province in the late colonial period. Asia (SEA) have been studied before (Feener, Se-
Most mainstream Muslim groups regard it as he- vea, and Ali 1970; Feener and Sevea 2009; Noor
retical. The claims of its founder and his succes- 2007), there is so far little research about the cur-
sors to some degree of Prophethood, in particular, rent state of links between the Islamic institutions
have enraged radical Sunni Muslim activists. A and traditions of these two neighbouring regions.
constitutional amendment declared the Ahmadis A very direct way of accessing the mutual inter-
non-Muslims in Pakistan in 1974. The Ahmadis of- action is to look at the composition of foreign stu-
ten face violent repression in Pakistan, but have dents at the Islamic schools in South Asia. Here, a
proven enormously resilient and continue having a couple of the most prominent schools, both tradi-
small but visible presence among the professional tional and modern, will be taken as case studies.
middle classes and the administration, particular- Recent research by this author on the transnational
ly relying on their strong global missionary acti- connections of South Asian Islam for the first time
vities. Starting from the 1920s, the Ahmadis have acquired reliable school data about the composi-
established an expansive global community that tion of the international student body at some of
still maintains close bonds with South Asia, alt- these schools. The research was conducted at the
hough its headquarters is located in Great Britain Darul ‘Ulum Deoband in India in 2001-02 and 2004
(www.alislam.org). Yet it is also globally increasin- and at the International Islamic University in Isla-
gly targeted by sectarian tension. A much smaller mabad (IIUI), Pakistan in 2002 and 2004. The Deo-
but equally global subsection – the Lahori group – band seminary is known for its conservative tradi-
puts less emphasis on the founder’s role and more tional education on the basis of a classical Qur’anic
on reformist ideas (Valentine 2008, Reetz 2006, curriculum and extensive Hadith studies. The IIUI
Lathan 2010). is following a rather modernist orientation.
The Deoband school is recognized as the head
• Some spiritual leaders of the Ismaili sect, the seminary of a large number of madrasas that
second-largest branch of Shia Islam, relocated to operate in South Asia and in other parts of the
South Asia in the early 19th century. Among them, globe. Deoband is a small town of approximately
the Khoja Ismaili faction has become a prominent 100,000 in northern India, where Muslims consti-
global community with abiding strong links to tute about 60 per cent of the population. Due to
the South Asian subcontinent (www.ismaili.net). its many Islamic schools, Deoband has become a
Currently led by Prince Karim Aga Khan IV. (b. centre of Islamic education and Islamic studies
1936), it not only engages in reviving and expan- comparable to the academic towns of Oxford and
ding the Ismaili faith but also in sponsoring large- Cambridge in the West. According to the latest
scale development activities through associated local description of Deoband, it is home to 109
institutions such as the Aga Khan Development madrasas (Reetz 2008: 97). In this context, Deo-
Network (AKDN) (Purohit 2012, Daftary 2011).3 bandi madrasas are understood as Islamic schools
following the Deobandi curriculum and offering
eight and more years of religious education, which
they consider equivalent to the secondary and
3 Cf. the research project by Soumen Mukherjee, »Of partially also tertiary level. According to various
›faith‹ and faith-based organisations (FBOs): the case of the estimates there are up to 2,000 Deobandi madra-
Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in post-colonial In-
sas with such a profile operating in Pakistan, In-
dia,« Zentrum Moderner Orient Berlin, 2011-13 (http://www.
dia and Bangladesh each. By 2004, the Deoband
zmo.de/forschung/projekte_2008/Mukherjee_FBO_e.html)
and the AKDN website at www.akdn.org. school had 1,152 affiliated madaris in India alone,
ZMO Working Papers 8 · D. Reetz · Travelling Islam· 2013 4
whose curricula it reviewed and validated (Reetz Barelwi movement have also been a major target
2008: 82). Students and graduates of all Deobandi of Deobandi criticism. It has also severely criti-
schools around the world affectionately regard the cized the Salafi Ahl-i Hadith, the Jama‘at-i Islami,
school at Deoband as their alma mater, or madri Shia beliefs and non-Muslim attitudes, esp. Hin-
ilmi (Urdu). The school forms the head seminary du, Christian and atheist views. These views have
and has played a key role in normative and insti- attracted sectarian militant groups in Pakistan,
tutional networking. While it is regarded as tra- which in turn grew into jihadi militias. They have
ditional today, mainly because it does not offer fuelled the violence in Kashmir and Afghanistan,
secular education, it was considered modern and but also in the frontier region of Pakistan ever
on the edge of innovation when it emerged. It ins- since. But the jihadi phenomenon cannot be so-
titutionalized religious education in a format with lely attributed to Deobandi teaching. It is more an
regular classes, paid teachers and hostels modelled outgrowth of the political culture of militarized
on British colleges. The centrepiece of its study pro- Islam in Pakistan. Most Deobandi schools remai-
gramme is the training of alims, (pl. ulama), spe- ned committed to teaching and learning, reflecting
cialists of Islamic theology and religious law. It is the old polarization between a more activist wing
based on the classic curriculum dars-e nizami from following the example of Maulana Hussain Ahmad
the era of Moghul rule in India. Mulla Nizamu’ddin Madani (1879-1957) and a more pietist wing that
(d. 1748) compiled the curriculum in Lucknow in regards Maulana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanwi (1863-1943)
the late 18th century. Using the classical Islamic as its mentor.
literature, it greatly privileged the Prophetic tra- The fact that many Deobandi scholars also
ditions (Hadith) and based the teaching on com- subscribed to pietist concepts is reflected in their
mentaries and compilations by authors from ear- approach to Sufism. They have not repudiated Sufi
lier centuries. Though it is based on the Hanafi Islam in its theological form as tasawwuf (spiri-
school of law, the teaching at Deoband remained tual Islam). They teach tasawwuf and follow it to
open to other schools of law. Its muftis are trained the degree it complies with the teachings of Isla-
to handle inquiries for legal opinions (fatwas) in all mic law (sharia). This has set Deobandi thought
four major law schools. Such awareness has been apart from Salafi and Wahhabi concepts. This may
generated partly by the needs of pockets of Shafi’i also have contributed to the emergence of the
Muslims in South India. To this day, conservative lay missionary movement of the Tablighi Jama‘at.
Muslims in India and all of South Asia see Deo- Founded by Deobandi scholars (Muhammad Ilyas,
band as a reference institution for legal opinions. 1885-1944; Muhammad Zakariyya, 1898-1982) and
Over the years, the Deoband head seminary has following Deobandi doctrine in theological mat-
also played a visible political role, starting back ters, it is widely seen as combining purist princip-
in the colonial era. Its clerics were involved in ar- les with certain Sufi practices. The Tablighis also
med anti-colonial resistance activities. The most became major carriers of Deobandi thought around
famous was the so-called silk letter conspiracy of the world as they awaken participants’ interest in
1914-16, in which plans were made to overthrow Deobandi teachings. This connection can be seen
British rule and restore a Muslim empire through clearly in South East Asia as well, where the Tab-
armed contingents headed also by clerics (Reetz lighi Jama‘at has become instrumental in creating
2006: 187ff). There was also cooperation with the Islamic schools following the Deobandi doctrine.
small mujahidin groups operating on the north- Foreign students have been present in Deoband
west frontier at the time. Deoband became the throughout the entire history of the school. Yet so
major influence on the first public association of far, detailed data on the strength and geographic
Islamic clerics, the Jamiyat-e Ulama-e Hind (JUH, reach of the Deoband graduate community were
Association of Islamic Scholars in India). Founded not available in the West. While the accessible
in 1919, it still exists today in India and inspired data are not fully consistent, they still make it pos-
the formation of similar associations in other coun- sible to engage in trend analysis. According to the
tries (South Africa, Britain, Canada). Its Pakistan school’s own data (Table 1, at the end), 5,078 stu-
wing became one of the major religious political par- dents from outside India graduated from the school
ties there, the Jamiyat-e Ulama-e Islam (JUI), which between 1866 (AH 1283) and 1994 (AH 1414). Com-
was and probably is quite close to the Taliban of pared to the total of 25,457 graduates during this
Afghanistan. The first generation of Taliban leaders period, roughly one in five students, or 20 per
are said to have graduated from Deobandi semina- cent, came from outside India (cf. Table 1). Among
ries in Pakistan’s border belt with Afghanistan. the foreign students, around 80 per cent, or 4,094,
The sectarian emphasis of Deobandi theological hailed from the wider South Asian region surround-
doctrine has often attracted criticism. It regards ing India. 2,154 were listed as coming from Bang-
most other interpretations of Islam as deviant ladesh and 1,524 from Pakistan, 119 from Nepal,
and has actively advocated against them. It zea- 118 from Afghanistan, 160 from Burma and 19 from
lously preaches against the Ahmadiyya for being Sri Lanka. These numbers show how strongly the
»heretical«. The Sufi-related practices of the rival Deoband tradition is rooted in the region of South
ZMO Working Papers 8 · D. Reetz · Travelling Islam· 2013 5
Asia. The catchment of the operation of the school Deoband for Malays and Malaysians started long
was and is not the Indian nation state, but the wider ago, well before independence.
South Asian region. Because of the large number The statistics show that only a few individual
of recognised Deobandi institutions in Pakistan, Indonesians have attended the Deoband school.
its graduates from Indian Deobandi facilities have Yet there is selective evidence from my interviews
been comparatively few in number. Students from with respondents in Indonesia that they attended
other countries are now largely barred from at- other Deobandi seminaries in India and Pakistan
tending because of the restrictions that various In- in more or less comparable numbers. They often
dian governments have introduced on educational followed the lead of the Tablighi Jama‘at, which was
visas for Islamic schools since the 1990s. running its own well-reputed Deobandi seminaries
From outside South Asia, students from Malay- at the movement’s national centres, their markaz
sia took the second place, with 518 graduates or in Raiwind near Lahore, Pakistan and Nizamuddin
about 10.2 per cent of all foreign students during in Delhi, India. At the Deobandi Darul ‘Ulum in
this period. The Deoband statistics show that gra- Raiwind, Indonesians were reported to form the
duates from Africa took third place, with 237 stu- largest group among the international students in
dents or 4.6 per cent. They come mainly from the 2010, 200 out of a total of 2,000 students, accor-
Muslim minority of Indian descent in South Africa. ding to Indonesian respondents.5 Other Indonesian
In contrast, the Malaysian graduates stood out as graduates of Deobandi schools narrated that they
by far the largest group of Muslims of non-South had formed local study circles that were joined by
Asian origin seeking religious knowledge in Deo- around 30 fellow graduates of Deobandi schools.
band. Other non-South Asians here include Mus- The Madrasa Ashrafiya in Lahore, Pakistan was
lims from Thailand (8), Russia (70), Central Asia among the more popular schools for Indonesians,
(20) and Iran (8). They reflect culturally indepen- along with other madrasas in Multan (Khairul
dent local trends of Islamic reformism beyond In- Madaris), Faisalabad and Karachi, respondents
dian community networking, looking to the Deo- explained.6
band school for religious inspiration and guidance In contrast to the Deoband madrasa, the Inter-
because of its theological reputation. national Islamic University in Islamabad (IIUI),
Annual figures on the foreign student body at Pakistan is known for its modern orientation and
Deoband between 1970 and 2001 provide additional the secular courses it offers. It is closely connec-
insight into the changing dynamics of foreign stu- ted with the International Islamic University in
dent attendance at Deoband (Table 2). For Malay- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (IIUM). These institutions
sia, the student registration figures peaked in the were launched in 1980 (Islamabad) and 1983 (Ku-
mid-seventies and fell off sharply from 1980 on- ala Lumpur) as part of the intellectual and politi-
ward. Malaysians were almost absent during the cal project of the »Islamization of knowledge«, in
late eighties, to reappear briefly in much smaller which the Malaysian scholar Muhammad Naguib
numbers in the early nineties. After 1995, only a Syed al-Attas (b. 1931) was heavily involved. Even
few individual students from Malaysia registered though the Malaysian sister institution is located
at the school.4 This observation is confirmed by sta- »next door« in South East Asia, the university in Pa-
tistics for international graduates, which do slightly kistan attracted a substantial number of students
vary from registration numbers. Accordingly, the from SEA, here mainly from Indonesia. They also
first students from what was still Malaya gradu- form the largest group of foreign students from out-
ated from Deoband in 1941 (1), 1944 (1), 1945 (4) side South Asia at the school. The share of foreign
and 1951 (2). Regular graduation in small numbers students stood at a remarkable level of around 50
started in 1955 and increased from 1968 (14) on- per cent between 1989 (529 out of a total of 1093
ward, reaching a high in 1975 (49) and 1976 (51), students) and 1994 (750 of 1495). Since then it has
after which graduation numbers steadily declined. declined steadily, reaching 11 per cent in the aca-
Conclusions from this patchy evidence are specu- demic year 2003-04 (792 of 6636). Apparently, the
lative, as much research still needs to be done into nature of the university changed from a rather in-
the circumstances and results of Malay/Malaysian ternationalist Islamic calling in the early nineties
participation. But it is clear that the attraction of to become a mainly Pakistani institution in recent
years. During those years, students from South
East Asia reached their highest level of presence
in 1988-90, at 28.7 and 26.2 per cent of all foreign
4 Cf. school data collected by the author in 2004: Naqsha-
students, with another couple of peak years in
e ta΄dād-e ṭ alaba΄ daru΄l-΄ulūm Deoband bābit sal 1390-91 …
1423-24 AH. [Table of number of students at Islamic University 1995-97, at 24.8 and 23.2 per cent, respectively.
of Deoband for the year AH 1390-91 … 1423-24 AH] Deoband: After that, their share declined to about 10 per
Daru΄l-΄Ulum, Daftar-e Ta΄limat, 1390-1423 AH; ; Faḍ ila-e
dār al-΄ulūm berun hind az 1328 AH ta 1399 AH. [Foreign
Graduates at Islamic University Deoband, AH 1328-1399]
Deoband: Daftar-e Ijlas Sadsala Dāru΄l-΄Ulūm Deoband [Cen- 5 Interview in Jakarta, 14 October 2010.
tenary Celebration Office], 1980. 6 Interviews in Jakarta, October 2005.
ZMO Working Papers 8 · D. Reetz · Travelling Islam· 2013 6
cent in 2001-03. The figures include students from but also social status. In Deoband, the Malaysians
Birma, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thai- were known for having rented a separate house in
land. Indonesians, the largest group among them, town, where they stayed with their own servants
reached their peak years in 1988-90 with 75 and and cooking facilities.
74 students, and in 1997 (74), 2000-03 (between The available information allows the conclusion
44 and 56) and 2003-04 (90). Malaysians were the that students from Malaysia, Indonesia and other
second-largest group, with peaks in 1988-90, in South East Asian nations, mainly Thailand, have
1994-97 and in 2001-02, at 14 to 18 students.7 The attended South Asian schools of Islam for many de-
attendance of foreign students at the IIUI seems to cades. They have at times formed significant seg-
be less dependent on cultural or religious affinity, ments of the foreign student contingents, usually
although a certain closeness in political and ideo- the largest from outside South Asia. To trace the
logical outlook within the framework of Jama‘at-i motives and impact of this educational exchange,
Islami and PAS thinking in the traditions of Syed research has to move to South East Asia. We will
Abu’l Ala Maududi (1903-79) and Syed Muhammad first take a closer look at the Deobandi institutions
al Naquib bin Ali al-Attas (b. 1931) may be assu- that developed in conjunction with the Tablighi
med (cf. Reetz 2010a). While the trajectory of the Jama‘at infrastructure. Then, a select number of
IIUI and IIUM is no doubt distinct from the con- graduates will be featured to understand the moti-
servative madrasa education, there remain points ves and background of those who went from South
of close communication between the two systems. East Asia to acquire Islamic knowledge in the sub-
One of the more important connections in terms continent.
of education sociology is that both IIUI and IIUM
readily accept the credentials of madrasa students Channels of knowledge and ideology –
to enter their student ranks. Both also have rather Deobandi and Nadwa institutions in
South East Asia
traditional departments of Qur’an and Sunnah stu-
dies, which remain very much interconnected; the In South East Asia, interaction with Islamic schools
IIUM Kuala Lumpur also employs a number of South from South Asia is apparently mediated through
Asian-born faculty who graduated from madrasas a number of socio-religious networks. They focus
in the subcontinent. on connections between religious institutions and
Substantial numbers of South-East Asian stu- local and regional family networks with a distinct
dents also attended the schools of the Jama‘at-i Is- religious and social background. It appears that
lami in Pakistan. Primarily they studied at the JI contact with the various traditions from South
Academy »Syed Maudoodi International Educatio- Asia was channelled through distinct groups con-
nal Institute« (SMII) at the Mansura complex near sisting of followers, students and teachers.
Lahore as part of a one-year training programme. The most visible signs of interaction with the Is-
Farish Noor (2008, 148) confirmed this for the PAS; lamic school system from South Asia were found in
he encountered around 40 Malaysians during a vi- the centres (markaz) of the Tablighi Jama‘at.9 There
sit in 2003. A year later, the numbers had fallen to and in schools affiliated with them Malaysian and
3 Malaysians, 4 Indonesians and 15 Thai students. Indonesian graduates set up courses following the
He ascertained that South East Asians had earlier Deobandi curriculum (Table 3). These graduates
formed one of the largest foreign student groups found the Deoband signature degree course of
at the school. The founder of the Lashkar-e Jihad, training as a religious scholar (alim) attractive, in
Jaffar Umar Thalib, who attended such a course in particular. Judging from interviews, activists were
1986-87, confirmed this attendance pattern for In- apparently attracted by the structured approach
donesians to this author.8 The four-year standard and the level of formal achievements in the course.
course offered is positioned between the madrasa They particularly valued the deep grounding in
education of the Deoband type and the Internati- Hadith studies for which the Deobandi schools are
onal Islamic University’s programme. The SMII well known and which apparently gives the gradu-
teaches religious subjects on the basis of the tra- ates a degree of certainty to be training in the cor-
ditional madrasa curriculum dars-e nizami and 50 rect interpretation of classical sources, in following
per cent non-religious subjects in collaboration what Deobandis call the »true Islam.« The schol-
with Punjab University (Ibid.). ars who built and expanded the Deobandi schools
While students from South East Asia at these were also prodded by demand from local communi-
schools are reported to excel in the academic dis- ties, as more students were registering and show-
ciplines, they apparently also stick to themselves.
They feel distinct from the local student communi-
ties at the religious schools in terms of food culture, 9 In his research, Farish Noor showed that the Tablighi
beginnings originally relied greatly on connections with the
South Asian diaspora (Noor 2009), yet the Tablighi Jama’at
7 Calculated on the basis of statistics from IIUI annual re- chapters in South East Asia have since largely moved away
ports collected during field research in 2004. from those roots becoming almost totally indigenous in eth-
8 Interview in October 2005. nic composition.
ZMO Working Papers 8 · D. Reetz · Travelling Islam· 2013 7
ing interest in training as an alim than they could disciples to die, in 2005, as his followers stress. 11
cater for. They thus emphasized that almost all The school has adapted the Deobandi curriculum to
graduates of the new schools would be employed the local Shafi law school of Muslims in South East
as teachers in the expanding school system. When Asia and changed the subjects of law – Fiqh and
interviewed in 2005, the Tablighis in Malaysia had Usul-ul-Fiqh – accordingly. All other subjects follow
far-reaching plans, as they were hoping to open the Deoband curriculum blueprint. They also kept
a Deoband-type school with every regional cen- the 8-year duration, which is rather an exception
tre (markaz) of the movement. Four to five years in the global Deoband network. Most schools in
onwards in 2009 and 2010, the plans had perhaps South Africa, Western Europe and North America
not materialized in the envisaged pattern of equal have condensed it to 6 years. The other major sec-
regional distribution. Nevertheless, the number tion of the school is devoted to Qur’anic recitation
of schools affiliated with them and the number of and training to become a hafiz. But about 80 per
students and graduates had almost doubled during cent of the students aspire to become a certified
this period. However, new branches and affiliated alim. The Sri Petaling school and its branches hope
schools developed more in line with local and per- to have 100 alim graduates per year. In contrast to
sonal initiatives of associated scholars and activ- South Asia, the Deobandi schools in Malaysia and
ists, creating a network of friends of friends and Indonesia normally charge fees, though they are
related institutions. New schools would grow out of very low. The Miftah al-Ulum school at Sri Petaling
the local roots of religious scholars who became a mentioned 160 MYR per month as tuition fees. Tho-
kind of »faith entrepreneurs« in the religious mar- se would normally include boarding and lodging
ket, as if opening a new »shop« for a »franchise«. and would be waived for students from deserving
It is remarkable that madrasas form a large part background. In some cases local mosque commu-
of local Tablighi centres in Malaysia. From a list of nities sponsor students and pay their fees. That is
28 regional locations where the traditional weekly also true for foreign students.
meeting (ijtimah) is held, 11 are madrasas (Table 4). The students from the Deobandi schools affi-
This connection shows the rather close association liated with the Tablighi Jama‘at in Malaysia and
of the Tablighis in Malaysia – and in wider South Indonesia are expected to regularly go out on a
East Asia – with formal Islamic teaching. This con- 40-day missionary tour (khuruj) during their end-
nection is far less pronounced in the subcontinent of-the-academic-year break. After graduation, they
from where the Tablighis originate. The expansive usually go preaching to South Asia for 4 months
way the Tablighis take charge of formal Islamic ed- each to Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.12
ucation in Malaysia and Indonesia is itself a fairly Schools have to register with JAWI (Jabatan
new development. While the Tablighi Jama‘at in In- Agama Wilayah Perseketuan), the Federal Ter-
dia and Pakistan has been running Deobandi ma- ritory Religious Department, when they actually
drasas in its national centres, it has mostly stayed have graduates. They offer no school certificate.
away from associating itself with the administra- Therefore, they only take students after the primary
tion of other Islamic schools. stage with the madrasa standing in as some sort of
In Kuala Lumpur it is the Madrasa Miftah al- equivalent for secondary education, even though
Ulum, located at the Tablighi Centre in Sri Petaling, they don’t offer a formal secondary education cer-
from which the expansion of Deobandi teaching in tificate. They also teach Urdu, Jawi and the Malay
Malaysia gets its strongest impulse.10 It is attached language as school subjects.
to the mosque (Masjid Jami‘) complex. Under the The Sri Petaling school Miftahul Ulum esta-
guidance of graduates from Deobandi schools in In- blished branches and twinning programmes in
dia and Pakistan, it pioneered the introduction of the states of Selangor (Bukit Changgang, Hulu
the full Deobandi curriculum for training an alim Langat), Johor (Sinaran Baru) and Terengganu (Be-
in Malaysia. As far as can be ascertained today, it sut). In cooperation with them, others schools started
first opened around 1995. It is currently run by Ab- following the Deobandi curriculum in Terengganu
dul Hamid bin Chin, who graduated as an alim (reli- (Kubang Bujuk), Kelantan (Kubang Kerian, Dusun
gious scholar) from the Deobandi madrasa Ashraf- Raja) and Kedah (Bukit Choras). This pattern shows
ul-Madaris in Hardoi, India, where he studied for 6 a certain preference for the vicinity of Kuala Lum-
years. That madrasa is located in the Indian state pur, which makes direct connection with the Sri Pe-
of Uttar Pradesh, not far from its capital Luck- taling school centre easier. The other associated
now. It is connected to the pietist tradition of the schools represent a much wider network of like-
Deobandis that goes back to Maulana Thanwi. Its minded schools, which however seems to be limi-
founder, Maulana Shah Abrar al-Haq, was a disciple ted to peninsular Malaysia, leaving out Sabah and
(khalifah) of Maulana Thanwi, the last of his many Sarawak on Borneo.
11 http://annoor.wordpress.com/biography-of-hazrat-mau-
lana-shah-abrar-ul-haq-sahib-ra/ [30-11-12].
10 http://musp.masjidsp.com/ [30-11-12]. 12 Interview September 2005.
ZMO Working Papers 8 · D. Reetz · Travelling Islam· 2013 8
The more even and widespread growth of the month are considerably lower than the school fees
Deobandi schools in Malaysia at present is appar- in Malaysia. But considering differentials in cur-
ently the result of the structural approach of the rency and income levels between Indonesia and
Tablighi Jama‘at, which organizes its activities Malaysia, they are more or less comparable.
in a very systematic manner. Prior to 1980, the Their religious course degrees are not recog-
geographic distribution of Malaysian graduates nised by the respective government departments,
from Deoband showed a more clearly pronounced in Indonesia or Malaysia, even though the stu-
regional concentration that followed particular dents still receive a certificate (shahada) from the
regions’ more traditional inclination towards re- school. The scholars argue that they also don’t
ligious learning. The data are drawn from lists of want and need the degree, as it is the tradition
graduates that were compiled in preparation of of the Deobandi scholars to seek knowledge and
the Deoband Centenary Celebrations in 1980. The piety for its own sake. Currently most of the gra-
Centenary Committee strove to trace and invite all duates seem to be absorbed in their own system
graduates, including those from abroad (Table 5). of religious schools and other institutions teaching
The data representing the situation prior to 1979 religious subjects or Arabic.
point to a strong concentration in Kelantan, fol- The Indonesian school has not only expanded all
lowed by Kedah, where the states of Perak, Tereng- over Indonesia with 22 branches on all major is-
ganu and Johor rank at similar levels of home areas lands, it has also managed to attract some students
for Deoband graduates: from neighbouring countries like Malaysia and
While similar trends can be noted for Indonesia, Singapore and even more from those with Muslim
there also seem to be clear differences in terms minority communities, such as Thailand, Cambo-
of the »religious culture«, meaning the conditions dia, Vietnam and the Philippines. For the latter,
under which and the extent to which intercultural the Temboro school has become a kind of beacon of
religious communication plays out and how reli- religious knowledge and guidance helping them to
gious institutions and networks build and expand. transmit, restore and expand religious knowledge.
The Tablighi Jama‘at’s structure in Indonesia Separate mention must be made of the madra-
seems to be less formal than in Malaysia. While sa Maahad Tarbiah Islamiyah at Derang in Kedah,
interviews with Tablighi elders confirmed13 that Malaysia. 15 It is affiliated with the Nadwa traditi-
there is a strong interest in Deobandi teaching, it on based on the Nadwatul Ulum in Lucknow, India.
has been left to a much greater degree to individu- Syeikh Niyamat Yusoff (1940-2003) founded it in
al scholars and schools to pursue or implement it. 1981 with the support of the Malaysian Islamic stu-
At the same time, the major religious school asso- dent organisation ABIM. It also follows a variant
ciated with the Tablighis, the Pondok Pesantren Al of the traditional curriculum of the dars-e nizami.
Fatah in Temboro, East Java, took up the Deobandi Like Temboro, it adopted the format of an Isla-
curriculum in a major way. It dominates the whole mic village community (Perkampongan Islam).
village called »Kampung Madinah« (Madina Villa- Its secondary level course programme opened
ge). Many of the teachers also live there, together in 1987 in the presence the rector of the Nadwa-
with their families. It follows the very South East tul Ulum, Abu’l Hasan Ali Nadwi (1913-99). The
Asian approach of setting up »Islamic villages« new school principal after the demise of Yusoff
where the institutions of Islamic learning seam- is Syeikh Abu Bakar Awang Al Baghdadi. Ustaz
lessly blend in with village life and with the desire Fahmi Zam Zam (b. 1959), a Nadwa graduate, is
to form a religious community that lives religion now the deputy principal of the school, thus ensu-
as a comprehensive way of life on the model of ring the continuity of the Nadwa connection.16 The
the Prophet and his Companions. All together, the school also employed several teachers who gradu-
school counts 11,000 students in its different units. ated from South Asia. Among them were respon-
It runs three major sections of roughly equal size, dents who studied at the Abu Bakr Madrasa at Ka-
in which it teaches the Deobandi Alimiyah course, rachi and the Nadwa in Lucknow. Several teachers
the Qur’anic recitation course Tahfiz and the na- are al-Azhar graduates. The school’s secondary
tional curriculum embedded in a religious course level combines subjects from the secular national
(Diniyah + formal). It is still closely connected with curriculum and religious subjects. 20 students per
the South Asian subcontinent, as demonstrated by year graduate from the secondary level (2005). A
the fact that about 50 of its teachers graduated couple of students are from Thailand. The tuition
from madrasas in Pakistan.14 Within the Tablighi fee is 150 RM per month.
missionary tour programme, it also sends students
and graduates for missionary dawa tours to South
Asia. Their student fees of around 250,000 IDR per
13 Field research in October 2005 and in 2009 and 2010. 15 http://mtiderang.blogspot.com/ [17-03-11].
14 Interviews with respondents in October 2009 and in 16 http://yayasansofa.blogsome.com/2007/01/15/ustaz-
2010. fahmi-zam-zam/ [17-03-11].
ZMO Working Papers 8 · D. Reetz · Travelling Islam· 2013 9
From piety to modernity – tul-Islah in Azamgarh, India. Prof. Israr Ahmad
graduate profiles in South East Asia
from the same department graduated from Aligarh
While the institutional impact of South Asian ma- University’s Department of Sunni Theology.17 But
drasa teaching in South East Asia can be easily the Deoband school apparently no longer regards
identified in the emergence of concrete and spe- these teachers as true scholars (alim) in the Deo-
cific formats in Malaysia and Indonesia, it seems band tradition after they took up employment at
more difficult to understand this interaction on an the International Islamic University of Malaysia.
individual level. Based on the selective evidence This is what Profs. Lais and Moten were told when
from the interviews and the statistics, there may recently visiting the Deoband school again. Their
be at least a total of around 1,000 madrasa gra- teaching at the »secularised« IIUM is seen as so-
duates from different South Asian schools each mehow »contaminating« or invalidating their ori-
in Malaysia and Indonesia. Exploring the dyna- ginal training as Deobandi scholars.
mics of »travelling Islam«, such notable student
exchange raises the question of the impact their Religious entrepreneur
education had on their lives after they returned to Returning with the religious qualification from
their countries of origin. Deoband or any other prestigious religious school
Drawing on select interviews with returnees in in South Asia (and beyond) allows graduates to be-
Malaysia and Indonesia, one way of looking at the come religious entrepreneurs opening their own
impact of this intercultural exchange is to identify fee-based religious schools, training institutes or
some prototypes of graduates. The prototype re- even sharia law firms.
flects a temporary construct to give meaning to Among the respondents, the founder of a private
complex social realities in a way similar to Weber’s Islamic training institute in Kuala Lumpur fits this
proposal to use the category of »ideal types« that he category. Ustaz Surur Sihabudin Hasan An Nad-
saw »formed by the one-sided accentuation of one or wi graduated from the Nadwa school in Lucknow,
more points of view and by the synthesis of a great India (1989-96). The Nadwa broadly follows curri-
many diffuse, discrete, more or less present and oc- culum similar to that in Deoband (dars-e nizami),
casionally absent concrete individual phenomena, though it is more modern in its cultural outlook.
which are arranged according to those one-sidedly Surur founded the educational trust Kelas Rehal
emphasized viewpoints into a unified analytical (www.rehal.org). He offers various paid courses
construct (Gedankenbild)« (Weber 1909/1949, 90). on the Qur’an, teaching recitation (tahfiz), clas-
However the ideal-type is based on the assumption ses in Arabic, Jawi and basic religious knowledge
of an ideal state of a given social situation, a »con- (Fardhu Ain) for adults and children. Services also
ceptual purity«. Instead, I prefer using »prototype« include Muslim tourism, counselling for Muslim
(Greek, lit. »first impression«), because, in a similar entrepreneurs and web design. He also sells books
process of searching for meaning, it emphasises and DVDs produced by his institute and designed
the nascent character that is still subject to change for instruction, devotion and the promotion of his
when more data and insight become available. programme.
In the given context, every prototype stands for Jobs related to the application of Islamic law
a certain type of social and religious interaction (sharia) and the certification of services and pro-
that particular madrasa graduates embody after ducts as halal, i.e. correct or permissible in terms
their return: of Islamic injunctions, have become part of the
mainstream job market, especially in Malaysia and
Religious professional increasingly in Indonesia and Singapore. These
The most visible and obvious category comprises jobs potentially also absorb madrasa graduates.
those graduates who stay in the religious field Previous Nadwa school records on the Internet
after their return. They take up assignments as listed a Malaysian graduate, Abd. Muhaimin Bin
teachers of religion in madrasas, colleges or the Mohammad Shahar al-Nadwi, who attended the
Islamic university. Respondents confirmed this school in 1982-87 and worked as a Hadith and
career option with regard to the Deobandi schools Shariah Consultant. 18
in Malaysia. Many of their teachers have indeed
graduated from South Asian madrasas. So have Pious individual
teachers in the Indonesian Temboro school system, The least visible but potentially largest group of
50 from Pakistani schools alone. graduates from South Asian madrasas comprises
Some teachers at the International Islamic Uni- individuals who take up professional careers not
versity in Malaysia also have a South Asian back-
ground in Islamic Studies. Prof. Rashid Moten,
heading the Political Science Department, gra- 17 Interviews in 2005, 2009, 2010; For Israr Ahmad, see
also http://staff.iiu.edu.my/sofiahs/qs2006/?download=Dr.+
duated from the Deoband school. Prof. Mohammed
Israr+Ahmad+Khan.pdf [14-03-11].
Abu’l Lais at the Qur’an & Sunnah Department at-
18 http://www.nadwatululama.org/guest/alumni.html [30-
tended both the Deoband school and the Madrasa- 07-09] - link no longer active.
ZMO Working Papers 8 · D. Reetz · Travelling Islam· 2013 10