Shaping Islamic Discourses

Based on a close study of three leading Muslim universities, their structures, ideational orientations, syllabi and alumni and their national and global outreach, this three-part volume allows readers to go beyond a rather singular focus on madrasah education. Benefitting from some fieldwork and by utilising institutional publications, this study of al-Madinah University (IUM) in Saudi Arabia, Qom’s al-Mustafa (MIU) and Cairo’s al-Azhar, this volume offers a searchlight on their varying roles across the Muslim countries and communities. In addition, it investigates the systematic efforts especially by the authorities in Riyadh and Tehran to use these institutions and their outreach as effective means of public diplomacy, whereas their Egyptian counterparts remain mindful of al-Azhar’s impact amongst Sunni Muslims, especially in Southeast Asia and the Maghreb. Before the ascendance of Saudi royal family, Muslims desirous of seeking a wider interaction with some leading scholars, would often flock to the Hejaz and study at seminaries, which in several cases had been established by South Asian Ulema.