Madrassa

Madrassa

Education and Inspiration

The Islamic Centre Madrassa is a well established Islamic school for education and learning, and is attended by over 200 students on a daily basis. The Madrassa students who come from a diverse range of local cultures are able to learn a broad mix of subjects including Arabic and Tajweed. The syllabus, teaching methods and learning objectives are currently being reviewed to ensure that they are focused on key priority areas. The students, teachers and administration staff currently require the assistance of volunteers who can assist the operations of the Madrassa in a number of ways.  

Facts and Figures  

The Madrassa currently has 225 students aged between 4 to 13.  Daily classes of which there are nine in total run from four different sites namely Sutherland st mosque, Leicester Central Mosque, Highfields Primary School and Uplands Infants School. There are 4 boys’ classes and 4 girls’ classes with a mixed class for minors.

Current Syllabus  

The Madrassa syllabus is a broad one designed to cover a wide range of subjects and topic areas. These include: 

·          Holy Qur’an with Tajweed

·          Islamic Deeniyaat

·          Islamic History  and Salaah

·          Urdu (covering fiqh and history)

·          Arabic (selected children)  

It is anticipated that the provision of learning the Arabic language will be fully integrated into the syllabus. The syllabus which has a strong foundation will also be reviewed to ensure that the most beneficial areas are given priority.  In addition to the annual examination process for students, the Education Secretary (Abdullah Patel) and the Education Administrator (Mustafa Khatri) will be introducing new ‘Target Sheets’ which will be divided into age groups. The Target Sheets identify benchmarks from the syllabus content that each student must work towards.  This will allow parents, teachers and Madrassah administration staff to monitor a student’s progress based on the standard that is expected in their peer group.  The annual examination process will then serve to incentivise the students to make progress against their targets with the process culminating in formal prizes and certificates.

Assemblies 

Every Friday, Brother Farhaan Patel gives an hour long assembly to over 100 students at the Sutherland St site. Brother Farhaan was himself a student at the Madrassa and is now a primary school teacher at Charnwood Primary School. Over the last 4 months since the assemblies began, topics covered have included Arabia before Islam, the birth of the Prophet, the Prophet’s childhood, and the time of the first revelation.  After Ramadhan, the students will learn about the Prophet’s life in more detail.  The students particularly enjoy these sessions and it allows them to learn about Islam in interesting ways using English as the medium. Weekly homework is set for all participants which reinforces learning objectives.

Sutherland Street Class Upgrade   

This year saw the completion of the renovation work of the attic at the Sutherland st site at a cost of approximately £6,300, providing three girls’ classes with a  more comfortable learning environment  Renovation work included new walls, new double-glazed windows, a complete re-paint as well as being fully re-carpeted.  InshaAllah if future funding permits, further renovation work will be undertaken to ensure that our Madrassa children are provided with the most appropriate environment in which to flourish.

Current Volunteers  

In addition to the teaching staff and those already mentioned above, the day to day running of the Madrassa is carried out by a few volunteers all of whom have not been mentioned below. For example Brother Muhammad Ayub provides a one hour workshop in English each week on Islamic deeniyat; Haji Suleman Jamal ensures that all fees are collected on time and any resource requirements are met; Sisters Shamim Suria and Shafinaz Aziz assist our female students and teachers during Madrassa hours with any learning objectives.  The current Management Council greatly appreciates the efforts of the current teaching staff and all the volunteers; may Allah reward them in this life and the hereafter.

Request for Volunteers and Support 

The current volunteer base at the Madrassa is small in relation to the numbers that are required to ensure that the students receive a more desired level of support. The Education Secretary and the Education Administrator require the assistance of more English speaking volunteers to assist them with support activities such as mentoring students, assisting students with homework, assisting teachers by giving assemblies on Islamic topics, ensuring all absenteeism is accounted for, and many more.  If you are wondering how you can really make a difference to your community, then supporting our children in their Madrassa studies provides an ideal opportunity to do just that. Parents and former students of the Madrassa are particularly requested to take an interest. If any brothers or sisters would like to volunteer or would like further information, then please leave your details on the Islamic Centre website and a Madrassa representative will be in contact with you. InshaAllah your efforts will be rewarded in this life and the hereafter.