TRACING THE ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF MADRASAH EDUCATION IN SRI LANKA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15575/jpi.v11i1.43949Keywords:
Contextual Relevance, Educational History, Education Policy Borrowing, Islamic Education Reform, MadrasahAbstract
The Madrasah education system in Sri Lanka, established in the late 19th Century, has long been an important aspect of the country’s educational landscape. This study explores the establishment, development, and contextual relevance of Madrasah education in Sri Lanka, focusing on its ability to address contemporary challenges. An integrative literature review, grounded in Phillips and Ochs’ theory of education policy borrowing, was employed to examine the historical and current state of Madrasah education. The findings reveal that Madrasah education in Sri Lanka has evolved through three distinct phases: the Monolithic Madrasah before colonization (pre-1505 CE), Indigenous religious Madrasah during colonization (1505 CE to the late 19th Century), and the Indian Model Madrasah that persists today. Despite its historical significance, contemporary Madrasah education has failed to adapt to the country’s socio-political and educational developments. These findings highlight the need for a comprehensive reform to ensure the relevance of Madrasah education, offering valuable insights for policymakers and educators to enhance the integration of Madrasahs into Sri Lanka’s broader educational system.
References
Anuzsiya, S. (2004). Development of education of Muslims during the portuguese, dutch and british rule in S ri Lanka. Retrieved from https://ir.lib.seu.ac.lk/handle/123456789/199
Arif, M., Kartiko, A., Rusydi, I., Zamroni, M. A., & Hasan, M. S. (2024). The Existence of Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Based on Pesantren: Challenges and Opportunities in The Digital Era. Munaddhomah: Jurnal Manajemen Pendidikan Islam, 5(4), 367–382. https://doi.org/10.31538/munaddhomah.v5i4.1401
Asad, M. K. (1993). Muslim education in Sri Lanka: the British colonial period. Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs Journal, 14(1-2), 35-45. https://doi.org/10.1080/13602009308716275
Bergen, P., and Pandey, S. (2006). The madrassa scapegoat. Washington Quarterly, 29(2), 115-125. https://doi.org/10.1162/wash.2006.29.2.117
Burnard, P. (1992). A Method of Analysing Interview Transcripts in Qualitative Research. Nurse education today, 11, 461-466. https://doi.org/10.1016/0260-6917(91)90009-Y
Da Silva, J. A. T., and Daly, T. (2024). Against Over-reliance on PRISMA Guidelines for Meta-analytical Studies. Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.5041/RMMJ.10518
Davies, D., Jindal-Snape, D., Collier, C., Digby, R., Hay, P., and Howe, A. (2013). Creative learning environments in education— a systematic literature review. Thinking skills and creativity, 8, 80-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2012.07.004
Dewaraja, L. S. (1994). The Muslims of Sri Lanka: one thousand years of ethnic harmony, 900-1915. Lanka Islamic Foundation. https://ixtheo.de/Record/1746020199
Dey, I. (2003). Qualitative data analysis: A user friendly guide for social scientists. Routledge.
DMRCA. (2022). Ahadiyya Daham School Road Map and Proposals. DMRCA Retrieved from https://muslimaffairs.gov.lk/?page_id=5935
DMRCA. (2024). Registered Arabic Colleges. Retrieved from https://muslimaffairs.gov.lk/?page_id=5927
Elo, S., and Kyngäs, H. (2008). The qualitative content analysis process. Journal of advanced nursing, 62(1), 107-115. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04569.x
Gamage, S. (2019). Need a common guiding principle for all religious education Daily FT Retrieved 27th April from http://www.ft.lk/Sujata-Gamage/Need-a-common-guiding-principle-for-all-religious-education/10513-679158
Hsieh, H.-F., and Shannon, S. (2005). Three Approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis. Qualitative health research, 15, 1277-1288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687
Ingram, B. D. (2019). ‘Modern’ Madrasa Deoband and Colonial Secularity. Historical Social Research / Historische Sozialforschung, 44(3 (169)), 206-225. Retrieved from https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.um.edu.my/stable/26747455
Jalaldeen, M. (2016). Contribution of islamic revivalist movements of Sri Lanka on education development: a compare study with buddhist and hindu revivalist movements. SEUSL International Symposium, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka.
Jalaldeen, M. (2016). Contribution of Naleem Hajiyar (Sri Lanka) and BS Abdurrahman (Tamilnadu) for the development of Muslim’s education of their countries-a comparative study. FIA International Symposium, SEUSL.
Jazeel, M. (2017). The mosque programme of education in Sri Lanka: An anlysis. Journal of Social Review, 4(2), 59-68. Retrieved from http://ir.lib.seu.ac.lk/handle/123456789/5214
Jazeel, M. (2019). An Analysis on History of Madrasah Tradition in Sri Lanka and Its Basic Characteristics. Journal of Social Review, 6(1), 76-88. Retrieved from https://ir.lib.seu.ac.lk/handle/123456789/5216
Jazeel, M. (2020). Application of Outcome-Based Curriculum in Religious Studies: The Case of Madrasas in Sri Lanka. Journal of Politics and Law, 13, 196. https://doi.org/10.5539/jpl.v13n3p196
Lincoln, Y. S., and Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage.
Mahroof, M. (1990). Impact of European-Christian rule on the Muslims of Sri Lanka: A socio-historical analysis. Islamic Studies, 29(4), 353-373. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.um.edu.my/stable/20840011
Mahroof, M. (1995). The Ulama in Sri Lanka 1800-1990; form and function. Journal of Islamic Studies, 6(1), 25-50. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/26195543
Mahroof, M. M. M. (1988). A Millenium of Madrasa education in Sri Lanka. The Muslim World League Journal, 15(11&12), 28-36.
Mihlar, F. (2019). Religious change in a minority context: transforming Islam in Sri Lanka. Third World Quarterly, 40(12), 2153-2169. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2019.1632186
Parliament. (2020). Proposals for Formulation and Implementation of relevant laws required to ensure National security that will eliminate New Terrorism and extremism by strengthening friendship among Races and Religions. Parliament of Sri Lanka Retrieved from https://www.parliament.lk/uploads/comreports/1582610584075624.pdf#page=1
Phillips, D., and Ochs, K. (2003). Processes of policy borrowing in education: Some explanatory and analytical devices. Comparative education, 39(4), 451-461. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305006032000162020
Rahman, A., Warsah, I., and Murfi, A. (2019). Islamic Education System in Singapore: Current Issues and Challenges. Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 8. https://doi.org/10.14421/jpi.2019.82.197-222
Rameez, A. (2019). Second minority in Sri Lanka: Genesis and current crisis. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 6(4), 53-58. Retrieved from http://www.science-gate.com/IJAAS/2019/V6I4/1021833ijaas201904006.html
Ramzy, M. I., Alshighaybi, M. S., and Rislan, M. (2022b). Measuring the Level of Intercultural Competence (IC) among Muslim Religious Leaders in Sri Lanka. Religions, 13(9), Article 800. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13090800
Rezavi, S. A. N. (2007). The organisation of education in Mughal India. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 68, 389-397. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/44147851
Riaz, A. (2010). Madrassah Education in Pre-colonial and Colonial South Asia. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 46(1), 69-86. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021909610387758
Ricci, R. (2010). Islamic Literary Networks in South and Southeast Asia. Journal of Islamic Studies, 21(1), 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1093/jis/etp084
Richards, L. (2020). Handling qualitative data: A practical guide. Sage.
Rusmana, D., Gunawan, H., and Martiningsih, D. (2025). Instilling Moderation: Transforming Religious Education in Madrasah Aliyah. Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 13(1), 77-102. doi:10.26811/peuradeun.v13i1.1830
Sageman, M. (2004). Understanding Terror Networks. University of Pannsylvania Press.
Syarif, S., Abdullah, F., and Herlambang, S. (2024). Multiculturalism among Students in Madrasah: Knowledge, Challenges, and Social Capital. Nazhruna: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 7(2), 390-408. https://doi.org/10.31538/nzh.v7i2.4710
Sikand, Y. (2005a). Bastions of the believers: Madrasas and Islamic education in India. Penguin Books India.
Sikand, Y. (2005b). The Indian madrassahs and the agenda of reform. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 25(2), 219-248. https://doi.org/10.1080/13602000500114017
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333-339. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
Tan, C. (2009). The reform agenda for madrasah education in Singapore. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 3(2), 67-80.
Webster, J., and Watson, R. T. (2002). Analysing the past to prepare for the future: Writing a literature review. MIS quarterly, xiii-xxiii. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/4132319
Xiao, Y., and Watson, M. (2019). Guidance on conducting a systematic literature review. Journal of planning education and research, 39(1), 93-112. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X17723971
Zacky, M. F. M. (2025). Unraveling the Nexus: Politics, National Security, and the Securitisation of Islam in the Aftermath of Easter Sunday Attacks. Intellectual Discourse, 33(Special Issue 1). Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com
Zuhyle, S., Ruzaik, F., and Hakeem, M. (2020). A study on Contemporary Madrasah Education System in Sri Lanka.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
