ORIGINAL RESEARCH

 

Potentialities of faith-based organisations to integrate youths into society: The case of the Deobandi Islamic movement in South Africa

 

 

Zahraa McDonald

Centre for International Teacher Education, Faculty of Education and Social Science, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa

Correspondence

 

 

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ABSTRACT

In a modern secular society, religion is meant to be marginalised. At the same time, faith-based organisations (FBOs) provide spaces and resources for all people, including young people, to experience a sense of belonging. In cases where FBOs do this, it can involve isolation and even myopia. To problematise youth marginalisation as a faith-based concern, this article contends that it is necessary to understand the potentialities of FBOs to integrate youths into broader society. As a contribution to this, the article examines the ways in which the Deobandi Islamic movement engages youths in society beyond its confines. Data gathered during an ethnographic study at an educational institution for young women in South Africa, associated with the Deobandi Islamic movement, are presented in this article. Findings of the article, drawing on conceptualisations of the public sphere, illustrate that FBOs are able to provide a sense of belonging within a tangible community. At the same time, the findings suggest that FBOs can also limit integration with the broader society to the extent that the community promotes interaction with the other. The article concludes by discussing what this means for youth marginalisation as a faith-based concern.

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Introduction

In a modern secular society, religion is meant to be marginalised (Berger, Davie & Fokas 2008:2). At the same time, faith-based organisations (FBOs) provide spaces and resources for all people, including young people, to experience a sense of belonging (Ferguson et al. 2006; Sonnenberg et al. 2015:5). In cases where FBOs do this, it can involve isolation and even myopia (McEwen & Steyn 2016). According to Clarke and Jennings (2008:6), an FBO is 'any organisation that derives inspiration and guidance from the teachings and principles of the faith or from a particular interpretation or school of thought within the faith'. To problematise youth marginalisation as a faith-based concern, this article contends that it is necessary to understand the potentialities of FBOs to integrate youth into broader society.

As a contribution to this, the article examines the ways in which the Deobandi Islamic movement engages youth in society beyond its confines. The Deobandi Islamic movement is predicated on a large network of educational institutions that dominates Islamic education in South Africa (Sayed 2011). As such it constitutes the single largest faith-based conduit for shaping how young Muslims engage within the South African society (as well as other countries).

Data gathered during an ethnographic study at an educational institution for young women in South Africa, associated with the Deobandi Islamic movement, are presented in this article. Findings of the article, drawing on conceptualisations of the public sphere, illustrate that FBOs are able to provide a sense of belonging within a tangible community. At the same time, the findings suggest that FBOs can also limit integration with the broader society to the extent that the community promotes interaction with the other. The article concludes by discussing what this means for youth marginalisation as a faith-based concern.

The article proceeds, firstly, to unpack what engagement (and thereby interaction) in society means and how the concept of the public sphere facilitates this. This is followed by a brief explanation of the methodology and the discussion of findings. The article ends with a conclusion, which summarises the argument.

 

Faith integrated?

By its very nature, faith is something unique and bounded, with the potential to establish a life or social interaction that is distinctive. It is for this reason, at least partly, that modern democratic societies are purported to place faith and religion at the margins, in the private sphere, that is, to secularise (see Berger 2001; Casanova 1994; Yamani 1997). The conceptual framework for this article suggests that religious processes can allow for expressions of citizenship, which in turn assumes integration into broader society at the level of personhood. McDonald (2013) contends that individuals, while they are religious, can participate in literary publics (Habermas 1991) and express citizenship.

Expressions of citizenship are partly conditional on individuals' participation in the public sphere, which can be realised via literary publics. According to Habermas (1991:38), discussion, debate and dialogue on matters of the common good in the public sphere occur via rational communication in public(s) that is predicated on a literary or 'reading public'. Habermas (1991:23, 28, 35) shows that the existence of a literary public, constituted through rational communication, is critical to developing the common good through dialogue and debate. This means that individuals who are part of publics that are literary participate in the public sphere. Such literary publics participate in the public sphere by swaying opinions through concerted, rational debate by writing, reading and engaging in related discussions. Ongoing debates that include writing or texts that are read and engaged with by many are then the features of literary publics.

Habermas (1991:42-43) notes that public moral commentary of this nature centred, for example, on schools and the improvement of education, as well as on civilised forms of conduct including polemics on vices such as gambling. In Habermas's analysis, particular and specific writings or texts became critical for constituting a common understanding of what is considered moral or good. Writing provided a common basis for discussion in dispersed spaces and times. As a consequence, concerted and sustained debate could ensue that could again be taken up and furthered in subsequent journal and newsletter articles as well as conversations. In this way, ideas could be rationally communicated and pursued via literary publics (Habermas 1991). According to Mendieta and Vanantwerpen (2011:3), a literary public is constituted when one's ideas are rationally communicated by means of writing in the press, literature and meeting of people (in their private capacity) to discuss these ideas. From Habermas's analysis, the nature of participation in a literary public is conditional on distinct levels of literacy.

Within this perspective, individuals participate in the public sphere by rationally communicating their views and justifications in debates that cumulatively form public opinion of a common good. In doing so they are of a literary public and express their citizenship. The literary public or public that is literary (Habermas 1991) is extended by McDonald (2013) to include bodily texts as a vital feature of communicating within the public sphere. Without bodily texts, ideas circulating within the literary public may be isolated because only members or interested individuals read and engage with respective written texts. Bodily texts are able to invade public space and, thus, potentially the minds and discussions of those who may have no interest in the ideas of a specific literary public (McDonald 2013, 2014).

The Deobandi Islamic movement develops, communicates and comprises a literary public according to McDonald (2013; 2014). The Deobandi orientation to Islam emanates from an institution established in Deoband, India, in 1867, which grew into a religious movement predicated on a large network of educational institutions that dominates Islamic education in South Africa (Jeppie 2007:5; Metcalf 1982:13; Roff 1983:703). As such, it constitutes the single largest faith-based conduit for shaping how young Muslims engage within the South African society (as well as in other countries). Moreover, research at women's Deobandi institutes illustrates that instilling a moral ethic premised on patterned action and behaviour, derived from vernacular writings, is a primary aim of their teaching (Sayed 2010; Winkelman 2005).

Practically, the vernacular writings operate as the mechanism which many individuals can engage with - read and discuss - in a related manner, thereby constituting a literary public (McDonald 2013). In addition, it can be reproduced in exactly the same way for many individuals, no matter how far apart, even translated, so that language is not an absolute barrier. The capability to engage with the texts is, however, dependent on individuals' literacy skills, that is, the ability to read, write and speak in the languages of the texts.

Women's institutions are particularly intent on teaching the moral ethic espoused in texts associated with the Deobandi Islamic movement (Sayed 2010; Winkelman 2005). Such texts espousing the moral ethic define a stable and consistent rational system of religious concepts and behaviour (Sayed 2010; Winkelman 2005). The women's institutions could thus be ideal spaces in which to examine what may be communicated, what could direct opinion in the public sphere and how the Deobandi Islamic movement engages beyond its confines. In the process of attending institutions associated with the Deobandi Islamic movement, women constitute part of Muslim publics, that is, those whose actions bring an interpretation of Islam into a public space predicated on writing and discussion within a particular literary community (McDonald 2013). In the process, young women are brought into a space and made to feel part of a movement where they can participate and experience belonging.

McDonald (2013; 2014) does not, however, consider the extent to which, if at all, there is also engagement with others outside the literary public that is constituted by the Deobandi Islamic movement. In other words, while the outcomes of the Deobandi literary public allow individuals to present their faith in the public sphere, the manner in which it is communicated is unidirectional. The ways in which the Deobandi literary public allows young people to engage in dialogue with others or consider their opinions as valuable within a broader context is not considered in the literature. As a contribution to this, this article examines the ways in which the Deobandi Islamic movement engages youths in society beyond its confines. Conclusions drawn from this examination may contribute to how we understand youth marginalisation as a faith-based concern to the extent that it sheds light on the potentialities of FBOs to integrate youths into broader society.

 

Methodology

Data for this article are drawn from an ethnographic study of an Islamic education institution, referred to here as Madrasa Warda. Participant observation was carried out at the institution for 6 months, which included document analysis of selected textbooks used as teaching and learning material within the Islamic curriculum at the institution. Furthermore, data are drawn from in-depth interviews with participants of Madrasa Warda over a longer period. Madrasa Warda was selected because of its connection to the Deobandi Islamic movement. The principal is a graduate of a Deobandi institution in Pakistan. Madrasa Warda is situated in an area formerly designated for people of Indian descent¹ in Johannesburg, which is home to many Muslim people in the city. Both Islamic (Deobandi) and secular Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) curricula are offered at Madrasa Warda. It is privately funded and is not a registered independent school, according to the South African School Act (SASA) (DoE 1996). The following two sections discuss data from Madrasa Warda that shed light on the ways in which the Deobandi Islamic movement engages youths in society. Pseudonyms are used for all respondents as well as the institution.

 

Separating from wider social processes

Madrasa Warda provides Islamic education, taught over 3 years (Classes 1, 2 and 3), within the ambit of the Deobandi Islamic movement that enables graduates to teach in institutions where basic Islamic education is taught to children, similar to Sunday schools associated with the Christian faith. The general aim of the Islamic (Deobandi) curriculum is to educate young women in terms of their roles and responsibilities as Muslim wives and mothers (Mohamed, founder,² interview³). As such, the students who attend Madrasa Warda need to acquire a sound foundation in Islamic subjects such as Koran and Hadı^-th⁴ and focus on moral acts (Randeree, principal and founder, interview). The constituent elements of the Islamic curriculum are expressed in the following quotation:

'When we drew up the curriculum I think one of the things we wanted, and I think that is what came out, very strongly is, what is the source of our religion, what is the message of the Qur'an? … If they were able to just get the meaning of the Qur'an from the first to the end that comes out, the wonders of the Almighty, the Risala [prophethood]. Those are some of the things we wanted.' (Mohamed, own emphasis, interview)

The teachers at Madrasa Warda refer to the process of inculcating the overall message as 'tarbiyya' or character building. Appa⁵ Ibtisaam (interview), one of the first teachers to join Madrasa Warda when opened in 1996, stated that the emphasis of her pedagogic approach was on tarbiyya [character building] and akhlaq [manners or decorum] as the aim and objective of her teaching and of Madrasa Warda. Current teachers at Madrasa Warda express the same objective. Similarly, Appa Raihana (interview) explained that the aim of education at Madrasa Warda was not to complete the 'big kitaabs [books]', such as Mishkaat⁶ for Hadīth and Jalalain⁷ for Koranic exegesis, but to focus on tarbiyya, or building a student's character, though both Hadīth and Koranic exegesis are taught. As Mohamed explained, the students are not required to learn texts in their entirety, as expected at Darul `Ulums or seminaries associated with the Deobandi Islamic movement (see Sayed 2011 for more on texts used in Deobandi seminaries), but to become acquainted with the overall message. The overall message, according to the teachers, implies building a character that conforms to the Koran and sunnah. Interviews with teachers regarding the curriculum corroborate the vision that Mohamed sketched, indicating that the overall message was focussed towards constructing and constituting the character of the students, based on the overall message of the Koran and the lifestyle of the Prophet. The primary aim of the Madrasa Warda curriculum then is to inculcate a specific character in students based on the Koran and sunnah [lifestyle of the Prophet].

During the first year at Madrasa Warda, in Class 1, a great deal of emphasis is placed on students' ability to gain an adequate level of command of the Arabic language. All students had completed grade 7 in public schools in Gauteng where English was taught at the level of home language and Afrikaans at the level of first additional language. In addition, their home language or mother tongue was either English or Afrikaans. The students had all also attended afternoon madrasa⁸ classes for children where they had learnt to read Arabic script in order to read the Koran. Grammar, vocabulary or comprehension of the Arabic language is, however, not taught at the afternoon madrasa. As such, the only prior knowledge of the Arabic language students had before enrolling at Madrasa Warda was limited reading (without comprehension). In the first year, Arabic is taught for half of each day of the Islamic curriculum (observations). Arabic grammar and vocabulary are taught as subjects (observations). According to Appa Raihana (interview), who taught Arabic at Madrasa Warda, Arabic was taught so that students would be in a position to understand the Koran in its original form.

In the second and third years, Arabic continued to be taught, but not as a language. Arabic texts on Koranic exegesis and Hadīth are translated into English during lessons (observation). A number of classes entail reading from Arabic texts and then translating these in order that students become more confident with the Arabic language. In this process two objectives are achieved; firstly, the students continue to learn the Arabic language and secondly, they become acquainted with the content of those texts. This means the students of Madrasa Warda would graduate with a higher level of literacy in the Arabic language than those who had not attended this institution or another of a similar nature. Urdu⁹ is also taught at Madrasa Warda, but to a lesser extent than Arabic. According to Appa Raihana (interview), 'basic Urdu' is taught at Madrasa Warda. Graduates of Madrasa Warda would thus have basic literacy in Urdu.

For Hadı^-th, an Arabic-English translation of Riyaadus-us-Saliheen (Abbasi 2006) is used. Riyadh-us Saliheen is a condensed volume of Hadı^-th from the more voluminous works of Bukhari and Muslim originally compiled in Arabic (Abbasi 2006:xiv). The text used at Madrasa Warda is an Arabic-English translation by Abbasi (2006), from the collection authored by Imam Abu Zakariyya Yahya Al-Nawawi (1233-1278 AD) in the 13th century. This means that though it is an English translation, the Arabic text is the original version. Each Hadı^-th is, thus, written in Arabic first, followed immediately by the English translation (documentary analysis). The subject fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) is taught from Tasheel-ul-Fiqh (Jamiatul Ulama Taalimi Board, n.d.), as well as Complete Taleem ud Deen (Hanafi) Kalimahs, Salat, Beliefs, Zakaat, Tahaarah and Hajj (Elias 2002).

While Arabic, Koran and Hadı^-th form the core of the Islamic curriculum in Classes 2 and 3, vernacular writings which depict behaviour patterns for women are taught as well (documentary analysis). These are the texts Randeree refers to that instruct students in 'morals'. Examples are Upbringing of Children (Olgar 2008), The Ideal Mother (Majid 2003) and Al-Mar'atus Salihah: The Pious Woman (Majlisul Ulama of South Africa 2008). In addition to the texts that pertain specifically to women, akhlaq (manners / decorum) are taught from texts that promote actions from the lifestyle of the Prophet for both women and men (documentary analysis).

As young women attend Madrasa Warda they are introduced to and become familiar with a particular corpus of texts. In addition, they are provided with the opportunity to discuss these texts during class. Institutions such as Madrasa Warda constitute decisive moments in which young people develop separately from their peers, becoming acquainted with ideas that are not necessarily common parlance. Indeed, what is being developed is a particular set of ideas emanating from the texts that are being studied. In this way, the young people become part of a community comprising specific literacies in which a sense of belonging may be experienced. At the same time, this distinguishes them from their peers and others in society to some degree. While the ideas in the text may clarify their own identity, which is useful in contemporary uncertain times, it could also enclose or distance them from others, those who do not share the same literacy skills and capabilities. The following section discusses, from the data, how actions promoted and encouraged in the texts may further contribute to separation from broader society rather in interaction.

 

Actions that enclose

Actions taught at Madrasa Warda are geared towards moulding a pious moral self so that the requirements of demonstrating belief or faith are complied with. Attending and being educated at institutions like Madrasa Warda, which are aligned to the Deobandi Islamic movement, increase an awareness of the peculiarities related to the execution of actions that are associated with the movement. Basically, students are instructed to be constantly vigilant about their behaviour, forever calculating their actions (observation). Ritual and mundane activities, together with emotions, are moulded through vernacular texts to achieve the desired moral character (documentary analysis):

The environment and circumstances in which we live, [sic] undoubtedly have an impact on our behaviour and character. The character of those who live in an impure environment of immorality, oppression and ignorance are [sic] drastically different to those who live in an environment of righteousness, knowledge and social purity. (Jamiatul Ulama Taalimi Board, n.d.:1, [author's own italics])

One set of actions and behaviour specific to women, purdah,¹⁰ is part of what defines piety from the perspective of the Deobandi Islamic movement and is instilled at Madrasa Warda through vernacular texts. In other words, purdah is an integral element of the drastically different environment. It is, therefore, contended that the Deobandi Islamic movement is further developed and communicated within Madrasa Warda, in that the details of the religious concept related to the 'perfect' character are communicated via vernacular texts, teachings and reading, as well as by means of discussion. In addition to vernacular writings, the teachers, together with the students and the graduates, are critical interlocutors in communicating the behaviour and actions associated with the Deobandi Islamic movement.

Purdah adds to a consistent, disciplined and organised manner of both dressing and being with fellow human beings at all times. The manner of dressing contributes to a moral character and rational action. The dress is distinct and, therefore, communicates a particular message to all who observe it, in much the same way as a uniform used in a variety of other contexts does, education being one of them. In this instance, the uniform has connotations with a particular articulation of moral character. Rania's (interview) quotation underscores this point; she contended when going into purdah that people think you are taking things (religiosity) 'to a whole new level, and they think you are like a saint'. As an accepted indicator of moral character, linked with an interpretation of Islam, the dress conveys an important message within plural public spaces. It both contributes to the regulated behaviour instilled at Madrasa Warda and symbolises moral character defined by additional patterned actions and behaviour.

Dressed as they are in flowing black cloaks and veil, they (teachers, students and graduates of Madrasa Warda, with others who share their conception of morality) provide a visual, written picture, in the flesh, of what it means to strictly adhere to the moral code that premises God promoted by the Deobandi Islamic movement. The niqab [face covering] adds an additional dimension of separation between men and women. In the physical sense, a woman wearing the niqab can be as close to another person as a woman in a bathing costume. The niqab, however, adds a symbolic dimension of separation ascribed to a moral outlook that eschews the inter-mingling of sexes. Purdah enables women to go around 'freely' in public without compromising their moral outlook and perfect character by going against their interpretation of Koran teachings. The outlook is generally understood by others to be moral even when they do not ascribe to the same outlook or even despise it.

Purdah, in the form of niqab, means being public, because it is of no use in private; by implication, wearers engage in public life, but on their own terms, telling their story. Purdah communicates a message from the wearer to the onlooker associated with a particular faith-based movement. Consider Schultz's (2008) comment on the dress of a female respondent in Mali:

[I]n addition to the turban worn by married women, she covered her head and shoulders with an additional prayer shawl, a form of 'modest' dress that, I knew, indicated her support of a broader trend toward Islamic moral renewal (own emphasis). (p. 67)

Although the dress at Madrasa Warda is substantively different from the Malian context that Shultz refers to, the point is that it directs opinion within the public sphere premised on religion. The manner of dressing communicates a particular message at a broader social level within the public sphere. This communication is not verbal, and thus the opportunity that it may be misconstrued could be greater. Moreover, the message it may advertently or inadvertently send to the onlooker is that the wearer is eschewing social interaction, placing a veil between herself and them. The message onlookers may internalise, with due reason, could be of separation and bracketing off. Young women who are graduates and fulfil the aims of Warda Madrasa, as well as institutions with similar pedagogic aims and approaches, could therefore be limiting their integration with the broader society beyond the literacy public to which they feel a sense of belonging.

 

Conclusion

This article sought to shed light on the potentialities of FBOs to integrate youth into broader society, thus, contributing to how we understand youth marginalisation as a faith-based concern. In doing so, the article examined the ways in which the Deobandi Islamic movement engages youth in society beyond its confines. Data gathered during an ethnographic study at an educational institution for young women in South Africa, associated with the Deobandi Islamic movement, are presented in the article. Findings, drawing on conceptualisations of the public sphere, illustrate that FBOs are able to provide a sense of belonging within a tangible community. To a large extent, the sense of belonging stems from a process of acquiring specific literacies. At the same time, the findings suggest that as a consequence of the same process FBOs may also limit integration with the broader society in the manner interaction with the others occurs.

Women associated with institutions such as Madrasa Warda comprise Muslim publics by presenting an interpretation of Islam within the public sphere. The capacity of the young women to engage in the public sphere is, however, also limited by the nature of the literary public. Within the confines of the Deobandi Islamic movement communication proliferates. However, the movement does not encourage young people to engage with broader society except to the extent that it communicates the message of the movement non-verbally. In other words, the Deobandi Islamic movement engages youths in society but not necessarily with society.

As such the findings of this study point to potential challenges on the part of FBOs to address youth marginalisation as a faith-based concern. FBOs may need to temper the identities they espouse, or public education needs to provide young people with capabilities to negotiate tempered lives. On the other hand, separating young people from broader society may not necessarily be problematic, particularly where society is comprised of less than desirable activities. It is furthermore possible that integration with society occurs as an unintended consequence. One of the graduates, for example, was attending a course in fashion design and intended to pursue a career in that field. Without active and equal participation of all members of society in the public sphere, we are, however, unlikely to realise the common good (Habermas 1991).

In view of the theory of secularisation it does not come as a surprise that FBOs limit integration of youths into society. The tension FBOs thus need to constantly wrestle with is as follows: can religion be marginal and yet not marginalise, can they be marginal while at the same time promoting social cohesion? It would appear that research to this end could yield valuable insights given that youth marginalisation is a faith-based concern. In as much as this may come across as a critique of FBOs in general and the Deobandi Islamic movement in particular, this is not the intention. Individuals have a need for belonging which is fulfilled within the confines of FBOs. The capability of FBOs to fill this gap thus ought to be lauded. Indeed, often FBOs are chastised for not doing enough to encourage youth participation, involvement and belonging in a positive manner.

This article merely serves to highlight the limitations of FBOs' potentialities to integrate youths into broader society. The manner in and extent to which the limitation is acknowledged, not as a problem but merely a fact, could provide the impetus to healthy social interaction.

Broader questions related to the potentiality of rational activities promoted by a codified textual corpus associated with literary publics to foster widespread participation and interaction are also raised by the case of Madrasa Warda. In particular, this begs the following questions: what role literacy plays in attaining belonging and integration within a community? Who are the gatekeepers of such literacies? How are social categories, such as age and gender, mediated within the confines of such literacies?

Literacy generally refers to the ability to read and write well enough to function in society. From the perspective of literary public, it is clear that functional literacy is associated with the extent to which one can read, write and communicate in a particular language. Moreover, although many in the literary public may be able to read and write, the writings of some are constructed as more legitimate than others. This was seen in the prescription of textbooks authored by a few individuals and read by others, including the young women enrolled at Madrasa Warda.

More often than not, young people are those who still need to acquire literacies. Young people are generally regarded as those who must read as opposed to those who write. In the case of Madrasa Warda, the young women are viewed as being brought into an existing literary public with content that they ought to imbibe rather than contribute to or critique. At the same time, it is only once they are functionally literate in this literary public that the space is opened up for critique.

The broader questions point to an inherent tension of rationality and openness. Weber (1976) alluded to this as the iron cage but which is generally only given credence as a form of red tape. As such, rationality appears then to be both essential and toxic at the same time with regard to how belonging is experienced as a process of acquiring specific literacies. Perhaps this merely points us to the constant unfinished nature of the human condition, reminding us that social integration requires constant humility in thought, word and deed.

 

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to acknowledge the comments of two anonymous reviewers as well as the guest editor, Prof Swart, which made a valuable contribution to the outcome of this article. In addition, funding from the Zenex Foundation and the National Research Foundation (NRF) has enabled the author to pursue postdoctoral work, culminating in the writing of this article. The views expressed are, however, those of the author and do not express the views of the funding organisations.

Competing interests

The author declares that he or she has no financial or personal relationships which may have inappropriately influenced him or her in writing this article.

 

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Correspondence:
Zahraa McDonald
zahraamcdonald@hotmail.com

Received: 30 Apr. 2018
Accepted: 27 July 2018
Published: 27 Sept. 2018

 

 

1 . The Population Registration Act of 1950 made provision for four 'races' in South Africa: black people, white people, coloured and Asiatic, which included Indians. Like all racial groups during apartheid, Indians were relegated to their own residential areas because of the promulgation of the Group Areas Act in 1950 by the National Party government. The Group Areas Act governed the separate physical settlement of racial categories of South Africans brought into being by the Population Registration Act (Ebr-Vally 2001:44-52).
2 . The first-time data from a participant is used in this article, their role at Warda Madrasa is noted.
3 . The source of data for this article is interviews, observation and document analysis. The source of data is, therefore, noted throughout the findings section.
4 . Teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.
5 . Urdu word meaning sister, which is used as a modicum of respect when addressing teachers at Madrasa Warda.
6 . One of the seminal texts of Prophetic tradition used at Deobandi Islamic institutions.
7 . One of the seminal texts of Koranic exegesis used at Deobandi Islamic institutions.
8 . Afternoon madrasas are held at mosques, independent institutions and private homes for the purpose of teaching basic Islamic education to children and adolescents. Muslim children generally attend them on weekday afternoons after returning from school.
9 . Urdu is the language spoken in the part of India where Deoband is situated.
10 . The Bihishti Zewar defines purdah as 'an Urdu word meaning "seclusion"', 'an equivalent of the Arabic word "hijaab"' (Thanwi 2014:187).