Darul Uloom, Birmingham

The Jami Masjid and Islamic Centre Birmingham and Darul Uloom is an Islamic high school and college, based in Birmingham, England. The masjid has prayer facilities accommodating over 2000 Muslims for 5 times daily prayer. It offers a full national curriculum covering secular subjects as well as being a full-time madrassa.

Darul Uloom Birmingham

The Darul Uloom Birmingham (Arabic: دارالعلوم الاسلامية العربية برمنجهام - Urdu: دارالعلوم برمنگهم) is an Islamic school located in the heart of Birmingham City UK. The Madrasah was established in 1985 and says its purpose is to provide education that will produce Ulama (Islamic Scholars) and Huffaz of the Qur’an who can become exemplary representatives of Islam, and serve both the Muslim and non-Muslim communities.

Darul Uloom Al-Islamiah Birmingham is a specialized Islamic Madrasah, School & College, which says it provides a balance of traditional Islamic education and National Curriculum subjects. It states that its purpose is to educate students with both a firm understanding of the Islamic sciences and a strong academic knowledge of National Curriculum subjects, a combination that will provide students with a wide range of possibilities when in pursuit of further education.

Background, Dispatches documentary and regulatory action against the school

During the seventies and eighties, the nascent Muslim communities in England began to expand considerably. This growth created an ever increasing need for an educational initiative that would cater for future generations of Muslims.

Through the dedication of a group of individuals led by Dr. Maulana Abdur Rahim, Darul Uloom Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah was established in 1985. The Madrasah was one of the first of its kind in the Western world.

Darul Uloom Islamic High School, Birmingham, has had favourable Ofsted reports up until 2011, praised for its interfaith and general teaching. It was inspected in May 2011, following a Channel 4 documentary Dispactches filming teaching sessions within the school. The regulatory body found that it was "good" with regards to The behaviour of pupils, "satisfactory" with regards to How well the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of pupils and Quality of provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development but "inadequate" in Overall Quality of Education, How effective teaching and assessment are in meeting the full range of pupils’ needs, How well pupils make progress in their learning, and The overall welfare, health and safety of pupils

The report followed a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary, entitled Lessons in Hate and Violence, on February 14, 2011, which filmed undercover inside the school alleging some students and teachers preaching intolerance to other students.

The Channel 4 documentary provoked criticism from a number of areas. The school itself was subject to threats following the documentary and released an official statement about the programme on its website, stating that it had been grossly misrepresented and that in particular comments taken out of context.^[1][2]

West Midlands Police confirmed that they would investigate threats of firebombs against the mosque following Channel 4's documentary.^[3]

Members of Parliament also criticised Channel 4 including local MP John Hemming:^[4]

"To sum it up Darul Uloom are working towards a united society and have acted to expel extremists even involving the police to ban one individual from the premises. For this they should be congratulated not criticised. On the other hand Channel 4 have given them a kicking. That I think is unfair."^[4]

REGULATORY ACTION AGAINST THE SCHOOL BY DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION

After the Department for Education viewed all unbroadcast rushes filmed at the school by Channel 4, it took regulatory action against the school for "a culture of intolerance" and issued a notice against the school, threatening closure. The headaster has now been replaced and number of teachers have been dismissed as a result.

The DfE ruled that the Dispatches found a "substantial amount of evidence" of intolerance and contempt for other cultures, religions and mainstream society and "a culture of intolerance where adherents to other faiths are despised and considered inferior".

It said that the school promoted a "wholesale repudiation of mainstream society"; and that the headmaster, deputy headmaster and the religious studies teacher were among the speakers secretly recorded "denigrating or belittling members of other religions" and promoting the view that Muslims must remain separate from mainstream society.

It ruled that one speaker recorded in the programme giving a lesson to the children "appears to be advocating war against America and/or Jews, and to be repudiating democracy"; that children were taught to refer to non-Muslims using terms "used on extreme websites such as those operated by Al Qaeda"; and that the headmaster had given lessons "condemning all non-Muslims and all aspects of their behaviour", as well as promoting Islamic punishments, including the chopping of hands for stealing and stoning for adultery, with no reference to a British context, which "may not be enabling pupils to distinguish right from wrong ... and to respect British law."

The DfE said the "combined effect of these speeches is to emphasise to the pupils that they should not have any contact with people who belong to other religious groups; indeed contact should be hateful... and to discourage them from living in harmony with members of British society". It also said that a separate Ofsted inspection in the wake of the programme had found "serious regulatory failings".

The DfE strongly backed the editing of the Dispatches programme. It said: "There was no other teaching that DfE saw that presented other religions, cultures or cultural traditions in a positive light. There was no evidence in the footage that was viewed to support the school's contention that its teachings were likely to prepare students to integrate, interact with and contribute beneficially to wider society."

The school has written back to the DfE with an Action Plan, promising "a significant transformation of the school structure". The school said the headmaster had been replaced by an acting head, and all teachers identified in the film as making "inappropriate comments" had been dismissed. The governing body had also been disbanded and all members of its Senior Management Team had been dismissed. It said it was taking a number of other steps to combat extremism and improve community cohesion. The DfE has accepted the Action Plan, but warned that the school may still be struck off the register for independent schools if it did not adhere to regulatory standards.

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Teaching staff

The staff consists of many highly qualified and experienced teachers who are experts in the Islamic sciences and secular subjects.

Many of the teachers have qualified from the renowned Al-Azhar University in Egypt, with Masters and PhDs, in addition to their Alim and Hafiz qualifications from their own countries, under the Deobandi system. Having spent many years in the Arab peninsula, these teachers have the extra advantage of being able to speak and teach naturally and fluently in Arabic – thus the school has an excellent Arabic learning environment.

The principle is Maulana Dr. Abdur Rahim hafizullah, an economics graduate from Dhaka University with a doctorate from Glasgow University.

Mission statement

The school's mission statement is:

The Darul Uloom's mission is to create a generation of talented, educated scholars, who understand the Islamic way of life from its most authentic sources in accordance with Islam’s own intellectual heritage; whilst reflecting the environment and society they are from with appropriate academic knowledge, so that they may benefit the local community and enrich the wider society.

Curriculum

Darul Uloom considers it is necessary to impart education on board as a range of subjects as possible, classical and modern, practical and theoretical, Islamic and secular.

In keeping the aims of the Madressah, the curriculum is divided into two sections - catering respectively religious and secular academic knowledge. The mornings are divoted to the study of the classical Islamic sciences.

The Islamic section is further divided into two separate courses:

• Alimi Class (the sciences of Islam)
• Tafiz Al-Quran (memorisation of the Quran)

Hifz Section

Students in the Hafiz (Qur'an) commit the entire Qur’an to memory. They undergo a rigorous routine of memorization designed to ensure completion within three years. In addition to their daily assessments, regular evaluations take place through monthly, termly, and end of year examinations. Darul Uloom employs teachers who are Hafiz and Qari of a very high calibre. Hundreds of students have completed their memorization of the Qur’an here, and several of them have won local and national Hifz competitions. During Ramadan, many of the current and former Darul Uloom students lead the Tarawih prayers in mosques nationwide.

Facilities

The Darul Uloom consists of a wide range of facilities such as:

• A fully equipped IT lab.
• A well sized Science lab.
• A woodwork room for professional craftsmanship.
• A tuck shop.
• A play room (cabin) with indoor table tennis, table football, pool etc...
• A large spacious playground with areas to play football, netball, volleyball, cricket and an outdoor table tennis.

Majlis al Shura

The Majlis al Shura (Arabic: مجلس الشورى) is a body of Ulama (Islamic scholars) set up to govern, guide, and mentor the running of Darul Uloom. It consists of some of the most highly regarded Ulama in the region.

References

External links

• Darul Uloom

Coordinates: 52°28′07″N 1°51′22″W / 52.4686°N 1.8561°W / 52.4686; -1.8561