An exploration of the viability of partnership betweendar al-ulumand higher education institutions in North West England focusing upon pedagogy and relevance

Abstract

The article explores possibilities of collaboration between Muslim providers of traditional education (dar al-ulums) and HE/FE institutions in close geographical proximity in the North West England. It reports the outcomes of a project carried out in 2011/2012 influenced by the findings of the Makadam/Scott-Baumann report in 2010, in which it was stated that cross fertilisation of pedagogical methodologies in the dar al-ulums is already achieving a unique synthesis drawing upon skills of memory and cognition. The project had a dual intention to (1) see through to completion a partnership in which a BA in Islamic Education would be created for advanced dar al-ulum students and (2) to focus on the relevance and pedagogical styles of the dars-i nizami curriculum taught in the dar al-ulums and therefore add to scholarly and political debates on the madrasa/dar al-ulum education which has already generated a body of literature. The paper will focus on the latter.