Qawmi Madrasah ( bn, কওমী মাদ্রাসা, ar, المدرسة القومية, al-Madrasah al-Qawmiyyah) is an
adjective
In linguistics, an adjective (list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that generally grammatical modifier, modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Tra ...
describing one of the two major
madrasah
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
educational categories in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. The Qawmi madrasahs are not regulated by the
Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board
Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board ( bn, বাংলাদেশ মাদ্রাসা শিক্ষা বোর্ড) or Alia Madrasah Education Board started its activity independently in 1979. With the passage of time in Banglades ...
. As private
charitable organizations
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definition of a cha ...
, Qawmi madrasahs are supported almost exclusively by donation.
The
theological
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
curriculum of the Qawmi madrasahs predominantly follow the
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic
Deobandi
Deobandi is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam, adhering to the Hanafi school of law,
formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name derives,
by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, R ...
model. In the past, the degrees they conferred lacked accreditation or official recognition unlike those conferred by official Alia madrasahs (also spelled "Aliya" and "Aliah"), which follow the Calcutta Alia tradition. Starting in 2006, two years after the founding of the privately run Befaqul Mudarressin education board for Qawmi madrasahs, the Bangladeshi
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
began to recognize some Qawmi degrees.
As of 2006, there were approximately 15,000 registered Qawmi madrasahs in Bangladesh, with 200,000 teachers educating 4 million students. Actual figures are unknown and Qawmi madrasas do not keep enrollment records. Moreover, it has been argued that if unregistered Qawmi madrasahs were counted then it could put the total number of Bangladeshi madrasahs as high as 64,000—suggesting that Qawmi madrasahs outnumber their official Alia counterparts (of which 25,201 existed in 2004).
History
Qawmi educational practices originate from the traditional Muslim educational system of Bangladesh.Hasan, Zeeshan. Market solutions for Qawmi madrasas '. During the British colonial period, these types of madrasahs were called "Khariji," or outside of government. Later, the term "Qawmi" emerged from the word "qom" (meaning "the public")—stemming from the fact that Qawmi madrasahs reject state funding and instead rely on donations from the public.
After 1971, some Qawmi madrasahs began to modernize their teaching, such as by switching the language of instruction from
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
and adding some English language and mathematics lessons. In 1978, a government body called the "Non-government Education Board" was established in an attempt to co-ordinate these madrasahs, of which 2,043 registered with that board by 1998.
The later part of the 20th century saw a major largely unregulated growth in the whole madrasah sector, which expanded from roughly 4,100 schools in 1986 to potentially as many as 64,000 schools by 2005.
The Befaqul Mudarressin of Bangladesh Qawmi Madrasah Education Board was formed in 2004. Soon afterwards, from August 2006, the Bangladeshi government began recognizing and supporting the Qawmi system through recognizing the 'Dawra degree' of the Qaumi madrasas as equivalent to master's degree in Islamic Studies or Arabic literature. By this time, approximately 15,000 madrasahs had registered with the Befaqul Mudarressin.
In April 2017, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reiterated her commitment to the earlier recognition of certificates of Dawrae Hadith under Qawmi Madrasa Education Boards as equivalent to master's degree in Islamic Studies and Arabic.
Qawmi education systems
There are two major Qawmi educational systems: those that use the old
Dars-i-Nizami
Dars-i Nizami is a study curriculum or system used in many Islamic institutions (madrassas) and Dar Ul Ulooms, which originated in the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century and can now also be found in parts of South Africa, Canada, the United S ...
curriculum and those that have a modified Nizami curriculum (such as by including the English language and the subject of mathematics).
The Dars-i-Nizami system originated from early eighteenth century India.Sikand, Yoginder Maulana Tariq Rashid Firangi Mahali on Dars-e Nizami and Madrasa Reform in South Asia '' There is some controversy regarding movements to "reform" the system, with some calling the move "an 'anti-Islamic' conspiracy, alleging that these are a means to secularise madrasas and rob them of their Islamic identity"—though reformers generally contest that they do not want secularization and that they are not a conspiracy.
In general, Qawmi primary education lasts six years, though it does not differentiate students by progressive grade levels. While the Qawmi primary level covers all subjects found in other madrasah systems, there is no specific time-sequence or order by which subjects are taught as would be expected in grade-based systems. Thus, imposing class-graduated terminology on the Qawmi system may not be meaningful.
Befaqul Mudarressin of Bangladesh Qawmi Madrasah Education Board
In 2004, many Qawmi madrasahs began organizing together under an umbrella organization called the Befaqul Mudarressin (also transliterated as Wafaq ul Madaris) of
Bangladesh Qawmi Madrasah Education Board
Befaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh ( bn, বেফাকুল মাদারিসিল আরাবিয়া বাংলাদেশ, ar, وفاق المدارس العربية بنغلاديش) is the largest Qawmi madrasa education b ...
, based in
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
, including seven smaller private Madrasah education boards. It is an extension of the process that formed the
Wafaq ul Madaris Al-Arabia, Pakistan
Wifaq ul Madaris Al-Arabia, Pakistan (Urdu: ) is the largest federation of Islamic seminaries in Pakistan, founded in 1959. More than 10,000 seminaries and 23,000 madaris across Pakistan are affiliated with the federation. It controls all the ...
in 1957.
The board was founded to assure a standardized curriculum and to provide centralized examination. Membership with the board is voluntary, though required for degree accreditation by the Befaqul Mudarressin.
It is organized under a three-tiered representative system led an executive body. The second tier committee comprises senior madrasahs, followed a third tier of ordinary member schools.
Statistics
As of 2008, the board oversees almost 9000 madrasahs at the following levels:
Qawmi schools
The following are some of the notable Qawmi
madrasah
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam
Al-Jāmiʿah al-Ahliyyah Dār al-ʿUlūm Muʿīn al-Islām ( ar, الجامعة الأهلية دار العلوم معين الإسلام), popularly known as the Hāṭhazārī Madrasa ( bn, হাটহাজারী মাদ্রাসা) ...
Jamia sharyah seirajul ulum and nur shishosadan, Brahmanbaria
Jamia (جامعة ''jāmi‘a''; also ''jamiya'' 'h'' is the Arabic word for ''gathering''. It can also refer to a book Al-Jami'a or a mosque, or more generally, a university. In the latter sense it refers in official usage to a modern university, ...
*
Jamia Madania Angura Muhammedpur
Jamia (جامعة ''jāmi‘a''; also ''jamiya'' 'h'' is the Arabic word for ''gathering''. It can also refer to a book Al-Jami'a or a mosque, or more generally, a university. In the latter sense it refers in official usage to a modern university, ...
(Jamia Angura), Beanibazar, Sylhet - Also known as Banglar Deobond.
*
Jamia Tawakkulia Renga Madrasah
Jamia Tawakkulia Renga ( ar, الجامعة التوکلية رنغا), or simply Renga Madrasah ( bn, রেঙ্গা মাদ্রাসা), is a madrasah located in the village of Renga, near Mogla Bazar, in South Surma Upazila, about so ...
in
Sylhet
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...
*
Jamiatul Uloom Al-Islamia Lalkhan Bazar
Jamiatul Uloom Al-Islamia Lalkhan Bazar ( ar, الجامعة العلوم الإسلامية لالخان بازار), popularly known as Lalkhan Bazar Madrasah ( bn, লালখান বাজার মাদ্রাসা), is a well-known Qa ...
Al-Jamiah Al-Islamiah Patiya
Al-Jāmiʿah Al-Islāmiyyah Patiya ( ar, الجامعة الإسلامية فتية, bn, আল জামিয়া আল ইসলামিয়া পটিয়া), better known simply as Patiya Madrasa ( bn, পটিয়া মা ...
Education in Bangladesh
Education in Bangladesh is overseen by the country's Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education is responsible for implementing policy for primary education and state-funded schools at a local level. In Bangladesh, all c ...
*
Islam in Bangladesh
Islam is the state religion of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.
According to the 2022 census, Bangladesh had a population of about 150 million Muslims, or 91.04% of its total population of million.
The majority of Bangladeshis are Sunni, an ...
*
Religious education
In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to te ...
List of Islamic seminaries
This is a list of Islamic seminaries throughout history, including the operational, historical, defunct or converted ones. This list includes mainly madrasa in the Western context, which refers to the specific type of religious school or colle ...
Footnotes
* Bano (2008) seems to somewhat misquote Ahmed (2005), which is cited just before this note.
* While two sources cited say there are about 4000 Qawmi madrasas, my editorial judgement based upon research is that the 4000 school figure is far too conservative; moreover, the 15,000 madrasah figure is 4 years newer.