Updated 9 Februrary 2011

Background

In his presidential manifesto, The World Federation President, Dr Asgarali Moledina, pledged to keep Tableegh and the Islamic Religious Education of our younger generation as his focus and priority.

Following his Eid ul Adha message last of 1431 AH, Dr Moledina pledged to hold the first global Madrasah Retreat in the history of the community in order to bring together the different Madaris and to seek their views in charting out a direction for the enhancement of the institution of Madrasah. 

81 participants attended the WF Islamic Education Madrasah Retreat

The Madrasah Retreat: an idea

The World Federation’s Islamic Education department began to organise the Madrasah Retreat with the following theme, aim, and objectives:

Retreat theme: Shaping the Institution of Madrasah to Deliver Islamic Knowledge, Spirituality, and Morality to our Future Generations.

Retreat Aim: To achieve consensus and agree the direction of travel to enhance the institution of Madrasah across the world.

Retreat Objectives:

• To co-create a vision for the institution of Madrasah.
• To co-create an action plan for the realisation of our vision.
• To share ideas, experiences and learn from participants from across the world.
• To network with practitioners, experts and enthusiasts in the field.

Invitations were sent to Madaris, Institutions and individuals in all parts of the world urging them to attend the Retreat and contribute towards the deliberations.
 
The Madrasah Retreat: a reality

On 3 – 6 February 2011, this idea became a reality. Over 80 people attended the Retreat and participated in a number of sessions. The attendees included representations from the following Regional Federations:

Africa Federation was represented by Al – Hajj Kumail Manji (Assistant Secretary General)

The Council of European Jamaats was represented by Al – Hajj Razahusein Rahim (Chairman of Islamic Cultural Affairs)

The President of The World Federation, Dr Moledina, and the Secretary General, Al – Hajj Shabbar bhai Dhalla, were also present.

In addition, there were attendees from 29 Madaris from throughout the world, as well as senior scholars and Ulama.

Vision for Madrasah

The participants at the Retreat produced a series of visions regarding Madrasah. A team has been formed to draft a vision statement for the Institution of Madrasah within 12 weeks. This team is headed by Mohsin bhai Kanji, and includes Yasin bhai Rahim, Arif bhai Vakil, Abbas bhai Ghulamhussein, and Muslim bhai Bhojani.

Main Outcomes and Action Plan

The Madrasah Retreat highlighted nine key strategies to enhance the institution of Madrasah. Five of these were prioritised for immediate action; the remaining four strategies will be incorporated under these five broad strategies.

The participants worked together to produce detailed work-plans for the five priority strategies and have assigned working teams to deliver each of these. The Madaris have committed to making these strategies a reality, and have committed their support, subject to their own local governance arrangements. These strategies are described briefly below:

1. Continuous Assessment and Evaluation

An independent and continuous assessment of the Madaris will be undertaken. The assessment methodology will include Key Performance Indicators and benchmarks to ensure the assessment is data-driven and not burdensome upon the Madaris. A number of Madaris at the Retreat volunteered to be the first ones to welcome this assessment as a pilot in January 2012, including Hujjat Saturday Workshop (Stanmore), Birmingham, Mombasa, Shia Ithna Asheri Madressa (Stanmore), Vision and Learning Centre (Mwanza), Madrasah al-Muhammadiyya (Dubai), and Wessex. All other Madaris agreed to implement this after the pilot has been completed. The lead deliverers on this strategy are Yasin bhai Rahim and Sajjad bhai Walji.

2. Curriculum Development

A panel of experts will be appointed to suggest a new curriculum that will be both global in its core material, whilst flexible to maintain regional variations where necessary. The curriculum will also be continuously evolving to meet the needs of the time. A number of Madaris at the Retreat pledged their assistance to the delivery of this objective.

To support this, Hujjat Saturday Workshop (Stanmore), Shia Ithna Asheri Madressa (Stanmore), Zahra Academy (Karachi), and Husseini Madrasah (Dar es Salaam) have agreed to share their curricula and notes with all the Madaris.

Individuals in the team to deliver this include Naushad bhai Mehrali, Askary bhai Khimjee, Sajid bhai Abid, Shaykh Safder Jaffer, and Hasaneyn bhai Datoo.

3. Teachers Training

A six-stage plan over five years has been devised to take into account the areas of teacher recruitment, induction, training, continuous development, and dealing with special needs.

Madrasah al-Mustafa of Dubai and Milton Keynes have both agreed to pilot this. Vision and Learning Centre of Mwanza and Zahra Academy of Karachi have pledged to share their own existing models of teacher training. In addition, a course validated by Roehampton University will be piloted in the UK and then evaluated, as a post-graduate qualification in teaching Islam. This will be undertaken through the existing course coordinated by Shaykh Muhammad Zakaria.

4. Resource Sharing

A highlight of the Madrasah Retreat was the sharing of resources and best practices and this also emerged as one of the priority strategies. The plan has a three phase approach from pooling existing resources and providing a platform upon which to share, to actively developing new resources. Madaris that have agreed to support this include Madrasah al-Muhammadiyya (Dubai), Shia Ithna Asheri Madrasah (Stanmore), Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Hujjat Saturday Workshop (Stanmore), QFatima, Husseini Madrasah (Dar es Salaam), and Mombasa.

5. Restructuring Madrasah: Madrasah Centre of Excellence

A Madrasah Centre of Excellence was presented as the vehicle which would eventually undertake the delivery of all of the strategies. The Centre would be centralised, have strong governance and autonomy, and provide the Madaris with the central support that they require. The team would be a permanent team within The World Federation.

Key individuals that volunteered to champion this were Ummul Banin bai Merali, Sidiqa bai Walji, Fatma bai Chagpar, Shafique bhai Govani, Abbas bhai Ghulamhussein, Aliasgar bhai Panjwani, Kumail bhai Manji, Razahusein bhai Rahim, and Mahmood bhai Hooda.

Financial Commitments: Ensuring Strategy becomes Reality

The Africa Federation and Indian Ocean Regional Council, The Council of European Jamaats, North American Shia Ithna-asheri Muslim Communities Organization, Pakistan Federation, and The World Federation have each pledged USD $50,000 for this cause over the next two years, giving the delivery of this action plan USD $250,000 over the next two years. 

The Retreat participants worked together in devising strategies for the upliftment of Madrasah

Participants

Participants from across the globe registered their attendance at the Madrasah Retreat:

The Participants supported the processes through their positive input

The World Federation President, Dr Asgarali Moledina, stated, “This was a landmark event in the history of our community. I was thoroughly impressed by the commitment of the participants. They each showed their love and commitment to the cause of Madrasah and I am delighted that we have achieved a forward-looking plan of action.”

Al – Hajj Kumail bhai Manji, Assistant Secretary General of AFED stated, “The Madrasah Retreat was really ground breaking in the way it engaged participants and got them to address the challenges of Madrasah. Africa Federation is delighted with the outcome and pledges to support the action plan.”

Al – Hajj Razahusein bhai Rahim, chairman of Islamic Cultural Affairs of CoEJ stated, “The Madrasah Retreat was an excellent opportunity to network with other Madaris and see the excellent work they are doing. The collective input of the Madaris has given a direction and a way forward with structured plans. The Council of European Jamaats is looking forward to supporting the delivery of the strategies.”

Al – Hajj Mahmood bhai Hooda, Head of Education Board of Dubai Jamaat stated, “The Madrasah Retreat was long overdue. I am delighted that finally such a focused and interactive discussion took place over our beloved institution of Madrasah. I am confident that the actions that have been agreed will take our Madaris to new heights for our future generations.”

Sayyid Aliraza Naqvi, Assistant Secretary General for Islamic Education said, “By the grace of Allah, the participants of the Madrasah Retreat engaged with one another positively by keeping in mind the sublime objectives of improving the community Madaris. This was a momentous event where unity, brotherhood, spirituality and the pleasure of Allah were kept at the forefront. The outputs of the discussions have provided The World Federation with a direction that can now be translated into actions that will benefit our Madaris. I thank each and every participant for their input. Above all, thanks and praise are due to Allah for this tawfeeq.”

A detailed report of the Madrasah Retreat will be finalised within two weeks, inshallah.