Closed Worlds
(Not) Accessing Deobandi 'dar ul-uloom' in Britain
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/firn.v1i1.7Keywords:
Religion, Islam, dar ul-uloomAbstract
This article reports upon the unsuccessful efforts made to negotiate research access to four Deobandi dar ul-uloom (Islamic ‘seminaries’) in the UK. I describe the attempts that I (and others) have made to conduct research in these institutions, and consider various ways that refusal might be interpreted. I explain why access has been problematic, principally on account of the history of the institutions, the nature of the setting, the current socio-political climate, and the ‘anathema’ of fieldwork and ethnographic research to the institutions themselves. But even when researchers are denied access, I argue that this nevertheless counts as ‘data’, and that there are ways of redressing the apparent imbalance of power. Locating my experiences within current debates and literature in sociology, anthropology and ethnography I reflect upon the strategies that researchers might employ to overcome access difficulties, especially when their research might be considered ‘sensitive’ on account of the setting or the topic.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Anwar, M., 1979, The Myth of Return. London: Heinemann Educational Books.
Beckford, J., and S. Gilliat, 1996, The Church of England and Other Faiths in a Multi-Faith Society. Report to the Leverhulme Trust: University of Warwick.
—1998, Religion in Prison: Equal Rites in a Multi-Faith Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Birt, J., and P. Lewis, forthcoming, ‘The Pattern of Islamic Reform in Britain: The Deobandis between Intra-Muslim Sectarianism and Engagement with Wider Society’. In S. Allievi and M. v. Bruinessen (eds.), Producing Islamic Knowledge in Western Europe. London: Routledge.
Bruce, S., 2002, God is Dead: Secularisation in the West. Oxford: Blackwell.
Buckingham, M., 2004, Inspection Report Jaamiatul Imaam Muhammad Zakaria School.
Carroll, J.W., 1997, Being There: Culture and Formation in Two Theological Colleges. New York: Oxford University Press.
Cassell, J., 1988, ‘The Relationship of Observer to Observed when Studying Up’. In R. Burgess (ed.), Studies in Qualitative Methdology. London: Jai Press: 89-108.
Cohen, S., and L. Taylor, 1977, ‘Talking about Prison Blues’. In C. Bell and H. Newby (eds.), Doing Sociological Research. London: Allen & Unwin: 67-86.
Coxon, A.P.M., and R. Towler, 1979, The Fate of Anglican Clergy: A Sociological Study. London: Macmillan.
Eickelman, D., 1985, Knowledge and Power in Morocco: The Education of a Twentieth-Century Notable. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Francis, L., and S. Louden, 2003, The Naked Parish Priest: What Priests Really Think They Are Doing. London: Continuum.
Geaves, R., 1996, Sectarian Influences within Islam in Britain with Reference to the Concepts of ‘Ummah’ and ‘Community’. Leeds: Community Religions Project.
Ghozzi, K., 2002, ‘The Study of Resiliance and Decay in Ulema Groups: Tunisia and Iran as an Example’. Sociology of Religion 63(3): 317-34.
Gilliat-Ray, S., 2000, ‘The Sociology of Religious Specialists’. In P. Baltes and N. Smelser (eds.), International Encyclopaedia of the Social and Behavioural Sciences. Surrey: Elsevier Science: 13132-36.
—2001, ‘The Fate of the Anglican Clergy and the Class of ‘97: Some Implications of the Changing Sociological Profile of Ordinands’. Journal of Contemporary Religion 16(2): 209-25.
—2003, ‘Ministerial Formation in a Multi-Faith Society’. Teaching Theology and Religion 6(1): 9-17.
— forthcoming 2006, Muslims in Britain: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hammersley, M., and P. Atkinson, 1995, Ethnography: Principles in Practice. London: Routledge.
Harrington, B., 2003, ‘The Social Psychology of Access in Ethnographic Research’. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 32(5): 592-625.
Homan, R., and M. Bulmer, 1982, ‘On the Merits of Covert Research: A Dialogue’. In M. Bulmer (ed.), Social Research Ethics. London: Macmillan: 105-21.
Hornsby-Smith, M., 1993, ‘Gaining Access’. In N. Gilbert (ed.), Reseaching Social Life. London: SAGE: 52-67.
Hussain, D., 2003, ‘The Need for Home-grown Imams’. Paper presented at the ‘Muslims of Europe’ conference, Al-Khoei Foundation, London, 26/1/2003.
Izraeli, D., and T. Jick, 1986, ‘The Art of Saying No: Linking Power to Culture’. Organisation Studies 7(2): 171-92.
Joly, D., 1988, ‘Making a Place for Islam in British Society: Muslims in Birmingham’. In T. Gerholm and Y. G. Lithman (eds.), The New Islamic Presence in Western Europe. London: Mansell: 32-52.
Kane, C. H., 1972, Ambiguous Adventure. London: Heinemann.
Keddie, N., 1972, Scholars, Saints and Sufis: Muslim Religious Institutions in the Middle East since 1500. London, University of California Press.
Lee, R., 1993, Doing Research on Sensitive Topics. London: SAGE.
Lewis, P., 2002, Islamic Britain: Religion, Politics and Identity among British Muslims. London: I.B. Tauris.
—2004, ‘New Social Roles and Changing Patterns of Authority amongst British ‘Ulama’. Archives de Sciences Sociales Des Religions 125 (Jan–March): 169-88.
Lindholm, C., 2002, The Islamic Middle East: Tradition and Change. Oxford: Blackwell.
MacIntyre, A., 1982, ‘Risk, Harm and Benefit Assessments as Instruments of Moral Evaluation’. In T. Beauchamp, R. Faden, R.J.J. Wallace and L. Waters (eds.), Ethical Issues in Social Science Research. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press: 175-89.
Makdisi, G., 1981, The Rise of Colleges: Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Marcus, G., 1998, ‘The Uses of Complicity in the Changing Mise-en-scene of Anthropological Fieldwork’. In G. Marcus (ed.), Ethnography through Thick and Thin. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press: 105-31.
Masud, M.K., 2000, Travellers in Faith: Studies of the Tablighi Jamaat as a Transnational Islamic Movement for Faith Renewal, Leiden, Brill.
Metcalf, B., 1982, Islamic Revival in British India: Deoband 1860-1900. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Mottahedeh, R., 1985, The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran. Oxford: Oneworld.
Petre, J., 2004, ‘New Women Priests to Outnumber Men for First Time.’ Daily Telegraph 27 September.
Robinson, F., 1982, Atlas of the Islamic World since 1500. Amsterdam: Time Life Books.
Schwartzman, H., 1993, Ethnography in Organisations. London: SAGE.
Sikand, Y., 1998, ‘The Origins and Growth of the Tablighi Jamaat in Britain’. Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 9(2): 171-92.
Spencer, G., 1973, ‘Methodological Issues in the Study of Bureaucratic Elites: A Case Study of West Point’. Social Problems 21(1): 90-103.
Versi, A., 2003, ‘Muslim Leader’s Detention Condemned’. The Muslim News 28 November.
Welland, T., 2001, ‘ “Assaults upon the Self”: Control and Surveillance in a Theological College’. Journal of Contemporary Religion 16(1): 71-84.
Whyte, W.F., 1943, Street Corner Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
—1984, Learning from the Field: A Guide from Experience. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE.
Zaman, M.Q., 2002, The Ulama in Contemporary Islam: Custodians of Change. Oxford and Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Beckford, J., and S. Gilliat, 1996, The Church of England and Other Faiths in a Multi-Faith Society. Report to the Leverhulme Trust: University of Warwick.
—1998, Religion in Prison: Equal Rites in a Multi-Faith Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Birt, J., and P. Lewis, forthcoming, ‘The Pattern of Islamic Reform in Britain: The Deobandis between Intra-Muslim Sectarianism and Engagement with Wider Society’. In S. Allievi and M. v. Bruinessen (eds.), Producing Islamic Knowledge in Western Europe. London: Routledge.
Bruce, S., 2002, God is Dead: Secularisation in the West. Oxford: Blackwell.
Buckingham, M., 2004, Inspection Report Jaamiatul Imaam Muhammad Zakaria School.
Carroll, J.W., 1997, Being There: Culture and Formation in Two Theological Colleges. New York: Oxford University Press.
Cassell, J., 1988, ‘The Relationship of Observer to Observed when Studying Up’. In R. Burgess (ed.), Studies in Qualitative Methdology. London: Jai Press: 89-108.
Cohen, S., and L. Taylor, 1977, ‘Talking about Prison Blues’. In C. Bell and H. Newby (eds.), Doing Sociological Research. London: Allen & Unwin: 67-86.
Coxon, A.P.M., and R. Towler, 1979, The Fate of Anglican Clergy: A Sociological Study. London: Macmillan.
Eickelman, D., 1985, Knowledge and Power in Morocco: The Education of a Twentieth-Century Notable. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Francis, L., and S. Louden, 2003, The Naked Parish Priest: What Priests Really Think They Are Doing. London: Continuum.
Geaves, R., 1996, Sectarian Influences within Islam in Britain with Reference to the Concepts of ‘Ummah’ and ‘Community’. Leeds: Community Religions Project.
Ghozzi, K., 2002, ‘The Study of Resiliance and Decay in Ulema Groups: Tunisia and Iran as an Example’. Sociology of Religion 63(3): 317-34.
Gilliat-Ray, S., 2000, ‘The Sociology of Religious Specialists’. In P. Baltes and N. Smelser (eds.), International Encyclopaedia of the Social and Behavioural Sciences. Surrey: Elsevier Science: 13132-36.
—2001, ‘The Fate of the Anglican Clergy and the Class of ‘97: Some Implications of the Changing Sociological Profile of Ordinands’. Journal of Contemporary Religion 16(2): 209-25.
—2003, ‘Ministerial Formation in a Multi-Faith Society’. Teaching Theology and Religion 6(1): 9-17.
— forthcoming 2006, Muslims in Britain: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hammersley, M., and P. Atkinson, 1995, Ethnography: Principles in Practice. London: Routledge.
Harrington, B., 2003, ‘The Social Psychology of Access in Ethnographic Research’. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 32(5): 592-625.
Homan, R., and M. Bulmer, 1982, ‘On the Merits of Covert Research: A Dialogue’. In M. Bulmer (ed.), Social Research Ethics. London: Macmillan: 105-21.
Hornsby-Smith, M., 1993, ‘Gaining Access’. In N. Gilbert (ed.), Reseaching Social Life. London: SAGE: 52-67.
Hussain, D., 2003, ‘The Need for Home-grown Imams’. Paper presented at the ‘Muslims of Europe’ conference, Al-Khoei Foundation, London, 26/1/2003.
Izraeli, D., and T. Jick, 1986, ‘The Art of Saying No: Linking Power to Culture’. Organisation Studies 7(2): 171-92.
Joly, D., 1988, ‘Making a Place for Islam in British Society: Muslims in Birmingham’. In T. Gerholm and Y. G. Lithman (eds.), The New Islamic Presence in Western Europe. London: Mansell: 32-52.
Kane, C. H., 1972, Ambiguous Adventure. London: Heinemann.
Keddie, N., 1972, Scholars, Saints and Sufis: Muslim Religious Institutions in the Middle East since 1500. London, University of California Press.
Lee, R., 1993, Doing Research on Sensitive Topics. London: SAGE.
Lewis, P., 2002, Islamic Britain: Religion, Politics and Identity among British Muslims. London: I.B. Tauris.
—2004, ‘New Social Roles and Changing Patterns of Authority amongst British ‘Ulama’. Archives de Sciences Sociales Des Religions 125 (Jan–March): 169-88.
Lindholm, C., 2002, The Islamic Middle East: Tradition and Change. Oxford: Blackwell.
MacIntyre, A., 1982, ‘Risk, Harm and Benefit Assessments as Instruments of Moral Evaluation’. In T. Beauchamp, R. Faden, R.J.J. Wallace and L. Waters (eds.), Ethical Issues in Social Science Research. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press: 175-89.
Makdisi, G., 1981, The Rise of Colleges: Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Marcus, G., 1998, ‘The Uses of Complicity in the Changing Mise-en-scene of Anthropological Fieldwork’. In G. Marcus (ed.), Ethnography through Thick and Thin. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press: 105-31.
Masud, M.K., 2000, Travellers in Faith: Studies of the Tablighi Jamaat as a Transnational Islamic Movement for Faith Renewal, Leiden, Brill.
Metcalf, B., 1982, Islamic Revival in British India: Deoband 1860-1900. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Mottahedeh, R., 1985, The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran. Oxford: Oneworld.
Petre, J., 2004, ‘New Women Priests to Outnumber Men for First Time.’ Daily Telegraph 27 September.
Robinson, F., 1982, Atlas of the Islamic World since 1500. Amsterdam: Time Life Books.
Schwartzman, H., 1993, Ethnography in Organisations. London: SAGE.
Sikand, Y., 1998, ‘The Origins and Growth of the Tablighi Jamaat in Britain’. Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 9(2): 171-92.
Spencer, G., 1973, ‘Methodological Issues in the Study of Bureaucratic Elites: A Case Study of West Point’. Social Problems 21(1): 90-103.
Versi, A., 2003, ‘Muslim Leader’s Detention Condemned’. The Muslim News 28 November.
Welland, T., 2001, ‘ “Assaults upon the Self”: Control and Surveillance in a Theological College’. Journal of Contemporary Religion 16(1): 71-84.
Whyte, W.F., 1943, Street Corner Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
—1984, Learning from the Field: A Guide from Experience. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE.
Zaman, M.Q., 2002, The Ulama in Contemporary Islam: Custodians of Change. Oxford and Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Published
2005-01-01
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Gilliat-Ray, S. (2005). Closed Worlds: (Not) Accessing Deobandi ’dar ul-uloom’ in Britain. Fieldwork in Religion, 1(1), 7-33. https://doi.org/10.1558/firn.v1i1.7
