Madrassa

The word madrasah in Arabic as well as in other Islamic languages such as kurdish,Urdu, Persian, Turkish, Indonesian, etc. means a "school." The word is often mistransliterated in the media as madrasa, madrash, or madressa. The Arabic word (مدرسه) is used in all the contexts of the word school used in English language for private , public and parochial schools, as well as for any primary or secondary school whether Muslim or non-Muslim or secular. Unlike the understanding of the word school in British English, the word madrasah is referred to as a university in American English. The appropriate word for the university, however, is al-Jami'ah.

Related Topics:
Arabic - Islamic languages - Kurdish - Urdu - Persian - Turkish - Indonesian - Al-Jami'ah

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In a general sense wherever the governments failed to provide general education to its common citizens, private religious establishments succeeded to take the lead to fill this gap and administer the educational system of the country according to their own principles. In this context, a madrasah herewith is refered as an Islamic school for the Muslims, just as a parochial school for the Catholics or the yeshiva for the orthodox Jews. Although these institutions are academically assigned to provide general education to children, they also feel obligated to teach their students about the fundamentals of their religion. In the case of a madrasah, Islam.

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In some cases female students are also allowed to attend certain madrasahs, however they must sit in separate class rooms or buildings. A typical madrasah usually offers two courses of study: a "hifz" course; that is memorisation of the holy Qur'an (the person who commits the entire Qur'an to memory is called a hafiz); and an 'alim course leading the candidate to become an accepted scholar or a mullah. A regular curriculum includes courses in Arabic, Tafsir (Qur'anic interpretation), shari'ah (Islamic law), Hadith (recorded sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad), Mantiq (logic), and the Islamic History. Depending on the educational demands, some madrasahs also offer additional advanced courses in Arabic literature, English, and other foreign languages as well as science and world history.

Related Topics:
Qur'an - Hafiz - 'alim - Mullah - Arabic - Tafsir - Shari'ah - Hadith - Mantiq - Islamic History - Arabic literature

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People of all ages attend, and many often move on to becoming imams. The certificate of a mullah for example, requires approximately twelve years of study. A good number of the huffaz (plural of hafiz) are the product of the madrasahs. The madrasahs also resemble colleges, where people take evening classes and reside in dormitories. An important function of the madrasahs is to admit the orphans and poor children in order for to provide them with education and training.

Related Topics:
Imam - Mullah - Huffaz

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There are approximately 10,000 madrasahs currently operating in Pakistan. Contrary to some media reports, only 0.3 percent of Pakistani school-age children are enrolled in the madrasahs. This is according to Pakistan's 1998 Population Census http://econ.worldbank.org/view.php?type=5&id=41363:Cite_source. Unverifiable estimates place enrollment at 1–1.5 million children although the 1998 Population Census found only 150,000 children. Orphans, migrants, and part-time students may explain the discrepancy. Regardless, the madrasah enrollment is relatively insignificant in percentage wise.

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There are some madrasah-like institutions also exist in North America and in Europe. Established in 859 A.D. Jami'at al-Qarawiyyin (located in Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque) in the city of Fas (Fez)is not only considered the oldest madrasah in the Muslim world but perhaps the first University ever established in the world.

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Due to administrative mishandling, radical political indoctrination of students and generally a more conservative outlook on the simple teachings of Islam , especially in certain Muslim countries such as Pakistan, the madrasahs are nowadays deemed as a threat to non-Muslim societies but are also projected in the media as the breeding grounds of violence. See also: Islamic architecture

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