Pedagogy and Daily Life at Jami‘a Nur al-Shari‘at
Keyword(s):
In Chapter 3 I enter the classroom with the teachers and students. This chapter presents an ‘ethnography’ of two different classes, one a Qur’an class and the other a class of Qur’anic exegesis for advanced students. We also hear discussions about the importance of taharat or ritual purity. We see how students and teachers interact, and how adab guides their relationship. The chapter shows how teachers skillfully present the material in a way that students find meaningful. It also discusses the role of memorization and peer learning in madrasa education. An appendix of the madrasa syllabus at the end of the chapter allows me to highlight the commonalities between ‘traditionalist’ Barelwis and Deobandis/Tablighis.