Tamari Tal. (2018). Qur'anic memorisation schools in the Gambia : an innovation in islamic education. In :
Breedveld A. (ed.), Jansen J. (ed.). Education for life in Africa. Leyde : African Studies Centre Leiden, 138-162. (ASCL Occasional Publication ; 34). ISBN 978-90-5448-173-7.
Titre du document
Qur'anic memorisation schools in the Gambia : an innovation in islamic education
Année de publication
2018
Type de document
Partie d'ouvrage
Auteurs
Tamari Tal
In
Breedveld A. (ed.), Jansen J. (ed.) Education for life in Africa
Source
Leyde : African Studies Centre Leiden, 2018,
138-162 (ASCL Occasional Publication ; 34). ISBN 978-90-5448-173-7
The "Qur'anic memorisation schools" - to translate literally from the Arabic - aim to lead their pupils to rapid mastery (typically, in about four years) of the correct oral recitation from memory of the entire Qur'an; they differ in several important respects from the traditional "Qur'anic schools." The first Qur'anic memorisation school in The Gambia was founded in the late 1980s. However, this educational model was not widely emulated until after 2000; presently there are well over a hundred memorisation schools. Although the first school was founded with foreign assistance, growing local demand for full-time formal education has been a major factor in subsequent expansion. Most schools privilege boarding. Most pupils range in age from about 7 to about 16, but some schools admit pupils under 5 while others accept learners in their early twenties. Girls constitute a substantial minority of enrolees. Most graduates proceed to further study at ?conventional? (English language) schools or madrasa (Arabic language schools that also teach secular subjects). Like nearly all institutions of formal education in The Gambia, the Qur'anic memorisation schools claim to contribute not only to the spiritual, moral, and intellectual development of their wards, but to the country's economic and political progress.
