Madrassa turns tech-savvy

A century-old Islamic seminary in Azamgarh has a curriculum that includes science and computers to keep up with the times

Madrassa turns tech-savvy

Au00a0century-old Islamic seminary in Azamgarh has a curriculum that includes science and computers to keep up with the times

Re-inventing itself to keep pace with the times, a century-old Islamic seminary in Azamgarh district not only has a broadbased curriculum with science and computers but also a polytechnic to equip its students with vocational skills. Apart from the Quran, the madrassa also imparts knowledge in English, science, mathematics, political science, economics, Hindi and computers. Several alumni are doing research in various universities in India and abroad.

Representation pic

Fakhrul Islam Islahi, vice rector of Islah, says that modern education is not incompatible with Islam. "We don't believe in differentiating between education," said Islah, who also heads the department of Arabic of Shibli National Post Graduate College in Azamgarh city. "Science and mathematics are helpful to understand Islam and obey its commandments. It is difficult to solve inheritance questions and disputes without knowing mathematics," he said.

The Islamic law of inheritance is an important subject of Islam that is necessarily taught in madrassas. English has come a long way here and is no more viewed from the pre-independence lens as the language of the oppressor. What makes the madrassa stand out is that it is located in a place often associated with terror and Islamic fundamentalism.

Azamgarh made headlines after the Batla House shootout of 2008 in Delhi in the immediate aftermath of the serial blasts in the capital. Two suspected militants, both Azamgarh natives, were killed in the incident. Many of those accused of the Sept 13, 2008, Delhi serial bombings belonged to Azamgarh. Following the incident, many local youths were arrested in connection with different terror attacks across the country, which maligned the image of the district.

Did you know?
Established in 1908 at Saraimir town in Azamgarh, Madrasatul Islah is one of the oldest Islamic religious schools in the region.

1,000 No of students from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra that study at the madrassa