Surrounded by a cluster of coconut trees and at a stone’s throw from the tomb of 18th century ruler Tipu Sultan in this town near Mysuru, Darul Umoor at first glance looks like a farmhouse. But inside, it is a unique coming together of science and spirit, imparting scientific knowledge and nurturing multiple skills and abilities while promoting Islamic knowledge for a holistic view of life.
Turning madrassa graduates into change agents of society, Darul Umoor — The Tipu Sultan Advanced Study and Research Centre — is known as one of the first institutions to train madrassa graduates in modern subjects like management, history, biology, physics, chemistry, banking, personality development and leadership skills, along with knowledge of computers and English language. It offers an intensive one-year course with the help of a number of experts and retired professors in their fields.
Every year thousands of students graduate from a large number of madrassas across India, but critics say they only have religious knowledge, imbibe fundamentalism and don’t have a grip on modern subjects. Darul Umoor is trying to fill this knowledge and perception gap.
Abdul Rahman Kamaruddin, general secretary of Darul Umoor, says the one-year programme is aimed at creating a well-informed, scientifically-oriented professional cadre to serve the community and the nation.
“Our dream is to train ulema (Muslim scholars having specialist knowledge of Islamic sacred law and theology) to take up both scientific and administrative positions and also act as community leaders specialised in not only religious subjects but in other subjects as well,” Kamaruddin, who worked as an adviser to Unesco and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), told IANS.
“They will also act as community leaders to guide and support the educational and economic development of the neighbourhood and strive at giving the right perspective of Islam and opportunities available in the country,” he added.
According to Kamaruddin, Tipu Sultan believed that all his staff should have good training in worldly affairs as well as religion, and Darul Umoor is a reflection of that thinking.
Without any public donation, the institution is run through the good offices of Bangalore-based philanthropist Ziaulla Sheriff. Students don’t have to pay anything for tuition or the mess because everything is free and they also get a scholarship of Rs 1,000 per month.
Mohammad Hazique Nadvi, academic director of Darul Umoor, argues that its graduates are seen as leaders and guides in the community and some of them even play that role.
He says that, in the beginning, some clerics doubted the style of Darul Umoor’s functioning because they were concerned that whatever they taught their students in seven to eight years would be washed away by this new institution.
“But due to the continuous guidance of a number of notable clerics, the institution has earned a good reputation across all schools of thoughts in the community.”
Every year, about 30 students are selected through a written test and interview. These students come from the top madrassas of the country and also a few from Nepal. Their daily journey starts with the dawn prayer followed by a warm-up exercise. Then, as part of their routine, they teach moral science and Urdu to children in a nearby government school.
After breakfast, the first academic session starts with newspaper analysis and study of contemporary issues, followed by a lecture series on comparative religion, history, science and the English language. The afternoon session, of two hours, is for computers and information technology.
After sunset, students practise computer lessons, visit the campus library, prepare for seminars and finish their assignments. Thursday is kept for field work, which includes a tour of slums, hospitals and sometimes centres of other religions.
The institution also provided space to M Power, an IT company in Bangalore, for professional training to newcomers in the IT sector. The company used the campus and facilities of Darul Umoor and trained about 100 IT professionals in five batches. One batch has to be trained for three months. They have separate classrooms and training, but each IT graduate has to befriend one madrassa student, which helps in further enhancing their knowledge about society, language, culture and religion.
Darul Umoor also focuses on training its students to be good public speakers. Kamaruddin says that there are over 300,000 mosques in India where about 70 to 80 million Muslims go for Friday prayer as “united captive audience” to listen to the sermon.
Kamaruddin says that so far more than 370 scholars have been trained by Darul Umoor and are spread all over the country and abroad, and are making significant contributions both in their work and in social services.
“They are working in various capacities like professors, teachers, IT professionals, journalists and so on, in addition to becoming eminent religious scholars and teachers of Islam,” Hazique adds.
Mohammad Athar is one of those who graduated from Darul Umoor in 2006 and is now teaching in MES Indian School in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
“Darul Umoor equipped me with broader thinking and imagination and also gave me a lot of confidence,” said Athar, who graduated from the prestigious Darul Uloom Deoband.
“Apart from learning subjects like computer, accountancy, management, history, banking and website designing, it was a platform for me where I learned how to talk to people and how to address people in a big gathering confidently,” he added.
Kamaruddin says that to achieve the aim of Darul Umoor, more such institutions should be started all over the country. Hazique is hopeful that sooner or later, more madrassas will adopt the path of Darul Umoor. About 10 madrassas in the country are already doing so.
According to Kamaruddin, their goal is to establish an international university — Tipu Sultan University — to impart knowledge as an integrated presentation of scientific and spiritual learning. “It is yet to take off fully. However, the nucleus of the Tipu Sultan University has been planned at Srirangapatna,” Kamaruddin said. #KhabarLive
I simply want to say I am newbie to blogging and seriously savored this blog. Very likely I’m want to bookmark your site . You definitely come with excellent article content. With thanks for sharing with us your website page.
Faytech North America is a touch screen Manufacturer of both monitors and pcs. They specialize in the design, development, manufacturing and marketing of Capacitive touch screen, Resistive touch screen, Industrial touch screen, IP65 touch screen, touchscreen monitors and integrated touchscreen PCs. Contact them at http://www.faytech.us, 121 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013, +1 646 205 3214
MetroClick specializes in building completely interactive products like Photo Booth for rental or sale, Touch Screen Kiosks, Large Touch Screen Displays , Monitors, Digital Signages and experiences. With our own hardware production facility and in-house software development teams, we are able to achieve the highest level of customization and versatility for Photo Booths, Touch Screen Kiosks, Touch Screen Monitors and Digital Signage. Visit MetroClick at http://www.metroclick.com/ or , 121 Varick St, New York, NY 10013, +1 646-843-0888
Hi folks here, just became alert to your web page through yahoo, and found that it is quite helpful. I will take pleasure in in the event you keep up this approach.
I just desire to inform you you that I am new to online blogging and clearly cherished your post. Very likely I am probably to save your blog post . You simply have lovely article material. Appreciate it for discussing with us your domain article
It certainly is practically unthinkable to see well-advised users on this content, however, you seem like you realize what you’re raving about! Regards
I am really enjoying the theme/design of your website. Do you ever run into any web browser compatibility issues? A number of my blog readers have complained about my blog not operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Chrome. Do you have any suggestions to help fix this issue?
Wow! This could be one particular of the most helpful blogs We’ve ever arrive across on this subject. Actually Excellent. I’m also an expert in this topic so I can understand your effort.
Gday there, just started to be aware of your post through Search engine, and discovered that it’s seriously helpful. I’ll like in the event you retain this idea.
Hello! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this website? I’m getting tired of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be great if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
Good day! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok. I’m absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward to new posts.
Appreciating the hard work you put into your site and in depth information you present. It’s good to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same outdated rehashed information. Great read! I’ve saved your site and I’m including your RSS feeds to my Google account.
Have you ever considered publishing an e-book or guest authoring on other websites? I have a blog based upon on the same ideas you discuss and would really like to have you share some stories/information. I know my readers would enjoy your work. If you are even remotely interested, feel free to send me an e-mail.
Hi! Quick question that’s totally off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My blog looks weird when viewing from my iphone4. I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to fix this issue. If you have any suggestions, please share. Thank you!
Does your website have a contact page? I’m having problems locating it but, I’d like to send you an email. I’ve got some ideas for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great blog and I look forward to seeing it expand over time.
First off I would like to say excellent blog! I had a quick question which I’d like to ask if you don’t mind. I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your head before writing. I have had difficulty clearing my thoughts in getting my ideas out. I do enjoy writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes tend to be wasted simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or tips? Appreciate it!
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four e-mails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Cheers!
Comments are closed.