Muslims and The Deoband Seminary
The ulama in north India was greatly concerned about the demise of Muslim kingdoms. They were concerned that colonial rulers would push conversion and modify Muslim personal laws. To combat this, they used low-cost lithographic presses to print Persian and Urdu translations of sacred scriptures, as well as religious publications and tracts.
The Deoband Seminary, founded in 1867, released tens of thousands of fatwas instructing Muslim readers on how to conduct themselves in daily life and explaining the implications of Islamic beliefs. Throughout the nineteenth century, a slew of Muslim sects and seminaries sprang up, each with its own interpretation of faith and eager to expand its following and oppose the impact of its opponents. They were able to conduct their battles in public thanks to the use of Urdu print.
According to the Hanafi school of Islamic law, the school teaches manqulat. Nanawtawi developed modern methods of learning in this seminar, including classroom teaching, a definite and carefully selected curriculum, lectures by academic experts in their disciplines, test periods, merit prizes, and a printing press. Students were taught in Urdu, and occasionally in Arabic for religious or cultural and literary reasons, or in Persian for cultural and literary purposes.
The curriculum is based on a heavily modified version of Dars-e-Nizami, an 18th-century Indo-Islamic syllabus. Students study the Quran and its exegesis, Hadith and its commentary, and juristic judgment supported by textual and rational evidence. They also study Muhammad’s biography, Arabic grammar, Arabic language and literature, and Persian.
Religious Reform and Public Debates
Print can be found in books, journals, newspapers, and prints of famous paintings, as well as in everyday goods like theatrical programs, official circulars, calendars, diaries, advertisements, and street corner theatre posters. We read printed literature, see printed images, get news from newspapers, and keep track of public debates in print.
Contact Us