See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315795496 Desert-Based Muslim Religious Education: Mahdara as a Model Article in Religious Education · May 2017 DOI: 10.1080/00344087.2017.1297639 CITATIONS READS 0 12 2 authors: Tarek Ladjal Benaouda Bensaid University of Malaya Effat University Jeddah Saudi Arabia 10 PUBLICATIONS 3 CITATIONS 29 PUBLICATIONS 11 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE All content following this page was uploaded by Benaouda Bensaid on 06 April 2017. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in blue are added to the original document and are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately. Religious Education The official journal of the Religious Education Association ISSN: 0034-4087 (Print) 1547-3201 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/urea20 Desert-Based Muslim Religious Education: Mahdara as a Model Tarek Ladjal & Benaouda Bensaid To cite this article: Tarek Ladjal & Benaouda Bensaid (2017): Desert-Based Muslim Religious Education: Mahdara as a Model, Religious Education, DOI: 10.1080/00344087.2017.1297639 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2017.1297639 Published online: 29 Mar 2017. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 12 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=urea20 Download by: [University of Birmingham] Date: 05 April 2017, At: 14:01 DESERT-BASED MUSLIM RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: MAHDARA AS A MODEL Tarek Ladjal and Benaouda Bensaid Effat University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Abstract As one of the oldest surviving educational religious models in the history of Muslim education, Mahdara remains a poorly studied desert-based religious institution of tra- ditional learning. In its Bedouin context, the Mahdara produced religious scholars no less competent in the mastery of religious Islamic sciences than graduates of other reputable Islamic learning institutions. This article explores the historical develop- ment of the Mahdara, its academic program, social system, and contribution to the Mauritanian community while highlighting the major problems modernity poses to it in its struggle to preserve its sociohistorical position in society. INTRODUCTION Since the time of Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406), the popular notion continues to be that the Saharan nature of the land likely inhibits intellectual flourishing, let alone the fact that it does not provide any support for prosperity in science and art (Ould al-Salim 2010, 45). This is arguably understood with reference to the general idea that urban- ism is often associated with flourishing knowledge, literature, and science, as a result of growing accumulations of civilization and cultural development in urban centers in contrast to the desert. Having said that, it remains to be said that since the sixteenth century the traditional religious lecture (al-dars al-dini) was the predominant, charac- teristic pedagogy of most learning institutions, including the Mahdara. In most cases scientific education was only minimally maintained, in order to serve determined reli- gious purposes like the determination of inheritance, prayer time, and so forth. Interestingly enough, the case of Dedou Walad Abdallah in Mauritania provides an exception to this general notion, as witnessed in the rise of the first desert-based Muslim religious education. Abdallah demonstrated a Bedouin community with writ- ten traditions, while other communities in the desert continued to depend on the assistance and support of cities (Ould al-Sa’d 1993, 53). The Bedouins’ connection to knowledge and culture reflected a rather peculiar inclination for learning, as reflected in the tribes’ daily lifestyles in Mauritania. Often, knowledge wins over money (Nahwị 1987, 122), as shown in the local common proverbs such as, “No life [is worthy] except on horses or next to books” (Nahwị 1987, 36). The desert life and language in Chinguett (a city in Mauritania with historical significance as a gathering place for pilgrims on their way to Mecca) bears testimony to a deep appreciation of learning and education, as shown for instance in the common description of those who fail to write down their Religious Education Copyright C The Religious Education Association Vol. 0 No. 0 ISSN: 0034-4087 print / 1547-3201 online DOI: 10.1080/00344087.2017.1297639 1 2 DESERT-BASED MUSLIM RELIGIOUS EDUCATION daily lesson as “thirsty,” reflecting thirst for water, which is the fundamental source of life in the desert (Nahwi 1987, 39). Mahdara in Chinguett helped found the desert-based intellectual and cultural life. The Mahdara played a highly critical role in the political and cultural develop- ment of the region (Mahmud,̣ 2001, 51), as highlighted by late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century French travelers and colonizers like Camille Douls (d. 1889), who explored the characteristics of the Mauritanian Bedouins that set them apart from oth- ers. Douls noted the following: “The Moors make use of their tents as real academies” (1888, 117–224). He also said, “Almost all those Bedouins can write Arabic” (119). This shows how the knowledge and intelligence of those Bedouins superseded their coun- terparts in other parts of North Africa (Douls 1888, 206). Similarly, René Basset (d. 1924) believed that the Moors of Chinguett possessed significant cultural awareness compared to most people living in Algeria at his time (Faidherbe 1889, 45). Throughout its history, the Mahdara played a critical role in the preservation and shaping of the identity of the Mauritanian society and its cultural identity. For example, during the period of the French colonization, the Mahdara stood as an educational institution resistant to the French policies. In spite of the French laws and regulations set to place it under the supervision of France, as in the laws of 1903, 1906, and 1924 (Nahwi 1987, 123), the French acknowledged their failure to exercise cultural control over Mauritania because of the Mahdara. However, the role of the Mahdara was not only limited to culture; it also extended to politics. In 1860, Muslim scholars blocked the efforts of the French General Staff H. Vincent in order to pave the way for military intervention (Vincent 1860, 17–33, 49–64). They also disrupted the trip of the French traveler René Caillé in Brakna to the South of Mauritania in 1824–25 (Caillé 1989). The resistance of the tribes in Mauritania against the French in 1860 and 1892 also was led by the Shaykhs of Mahdaras.(bin Muhammadhṇ 1996, 59). In the Mauritanian post-independence period, Mahdara graduates played a sig- nificant role through formation of various political organizations. For instance, they issued a petition to review political and cultural relations with France, in addition to the issuance of national currency, the Arabization of the national education curricu- lum, and a call for the nationalization of Mauritania metals companies. Their demands were embraced by the national parties in Mauritania and were consequently endorsed by the government. Most political oppositions in Mauritania were led by Mahdara graduates, especially those from the Mahdara of Imam Badah ouled al-Busayri, the Grand Mufti of the Mauritania (Mahmuḍ 2001, 78). In addition, the significant con- tribution of Mahdara in Western Africa was extended through African students who attended Mahdaras, and later formed the intellectual life in their homelands. Most of the revolutionary movements in West African Muslim societies were influenced by the Shaykhs of the Mahdara, beginning from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries (Marty 1915, 67). Despite its rich historical position, the Mahdara remains buried in the sands of the desert of Chinguett. None perhaps would have known about it had it not been for a few French and Mauritanians scholars.1 Arabic works on the Mahdara lack direct 1This influence in current time is the Zaytuna College, founded in Berkeley, California, USA, in2009 by a former Mahdara graduate, Hamza Yusuf. TAREK LADJAL AND BENAOUDA BENSAID 3 references to the nature and history of Mahdara, other than the work of the Mauri- tian historian al-Khalil al-Nahwị entitled “bilad Chinguett al-manarah wal-ribat” (The Country of Chinguett: the Beacon and Fortress) that covers up to 1987 but misses the current development of the Mahdara. Walad Abdallah Dedou’s unpublished disserta- tion, “The Intellectual Movement in the Land of Chinguett during the 11th and 12th Hijri Centuries (18–17 C.E),” addresses the intellectual life of the Mahdara. Many scholars, like André Lecourtois (1978) and Paul Dubie (Des Maures, 1953), among others, have addressed the role of the Mahdara, in face of the French expansion in West Africa and its contribution to preserving the cultural identity in Mauritania. Lecourtois, for instance, addressed the role of instructors (Shaykhs) of the Mahdara, and their campaign against the French schools, and their prohibition on enrollment in those schools.2 Lecourtois wrote his Etude expérimentale sur l’enseignement islamique traditionnel en Mauritanie, Entreprises et développement, which extensively examines the culture and geography of the Mauritanian society with special reference to the Mahdara. It is, however, limited to the period of 1900–78 and does not address the state of the Mahdara post-1978. Among other interesting