Travelling Islam - Madrasa Graduates from India and Pakistan in the Malay Archipelago

Abstract

The phenomenon of travelling religious traditions has attracted the attention of various scholars, but a differentiated understanding of its nature and impact is still lacking. This essay addresses the transnational and transregional impact of educational traditions in Islam in the South-South direction. It traces the impact of two education networks based in South Asia on Islamic learning in South East Asia. Both the modernist institutions of the International Islamic University and the conservative Deoband schools together with the affiliated Tablighi Jama'at have made significant headway in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and beyond. The case study argues that the impact is far from unidirectional and more multifaceted than often assumed. It is largely shaped by the social and cultural experience of local society and driven by its needs, rather than by a transnational agenda.