The Islamic University of Medina since 1961: The Politics of Religious Mission and the Making of a Modern Salafi Pedagogy1
The Islamic University of Medina since 1961: The Politics of Religious Mission and the Making of a Modern Salafi Pedagogy1
This chapter offers an analysis of how the Islamic University of Medina (IUM) was from its very inception meant to function as a Saudi state-backed Salafi missionary project with global reach. The goal was for students to return to their home countries or to travel on elsewhere after graduation for du'a, or as missionaries, to promote spiritual commitment and “correct” religious knowledge and practice. As the university president and future Grand Mufti Abd al Aziz bin Baz wrote in a prospectus published in 1971, emphasising the sacred geography of Medina and suggesting a parallel between this Saudi-backed project and the Prophet's own mission, the university was to operate as a source of modern Islamic propagation from the source of the first Islamic propagation.
Keywords: Islamic University of Medina, Salafi, missionary project, religious knowledge, spiritual commitment, Abd al Aziz bin Baz, Islamic propagation
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