Madrasas and Social Mobility in the Religious Economy: The Case of Nadwat al-’Ulama in Lucknow

Abstract

Lucknow is world-famous for Islamic learning. The city produced the ‘ulama of Firangi Mahal, the Sunni seminary of Nadwat al-’Ulama, and the revival and consolidation of a distinctly Indian Shi’ism. In contemporary India, however, critics lament madrasa education’s obscurantism, decrying its declining ‘usefulness’ in the 21st century. Yet a view of madrasas as merely cloistered spaces, impervious to traffic with contemporary life, is misleading. As clamour over ‘Muslim backwardness’ has become more shrill in recent years, Nadwa madrasa has claimed a role as a provider of welfare in Lucknow. This paper presents the religious sphere in Lucknow, viewed through the case of Nadwa and its students, as a marketplace for jobs in scholarship and ritual leadership as well as a site in the transnational economy of alms. I evaluate its influence in Lucknow’s social circles and its ability to maintain prestige \(and Saudi funding\) amidst 21st century constraints.