Walking Qur'an
Book Description
Through meticulous research spanning centuries and contemporary fieldwork across Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania, Rudolph T. Ware unveils a remarkable spiritual tradition that has quietly shaped West African Islam for over a millennium. This scholarly exploration reveals how Quranic schools became far more than educational institutions, serving as peaceful catalysts for Islamic expansion and powerful symbols of cultural identity throughout the region.
Ware demonstrates how these learning centers transformed into channels of resistance during the devastating periods of slave trade and colonial domination, preserving both faith and community strength. What emerges is a profound understanding of how knowledge transmission becomes a deeply embodied practice, where students don't simply study sacred texts but are shaped to become living vessels of divine wisdom.
The author illuminates a unique pedagogical approach that seeks to educate the complete human being, creating individuals who embody the Quranic teachings in their very essence. This method of learning, often misunderstood by outsiders, reflects classical Islamic principles while addressing contemporary questions about spiritual education and religious practice.
Drawing from extensive ethnographic work, Ware presents these traditions from the practitioners' own perspectives, offering readers insight into a spiritual methodology that views knowledge as something to be physically and spiritually integrated rather than merely intellectually grasped. The result is a compelling examination of how ancient wisdom traditions continue to thrive and adapt in the modern world.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~10 hours)
📄 Length: 352 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore Islamic religious education
- ✓ Explore Éducation religieuse islamique
- ✓ Explore Study skills
- ✓ Explore Koran
- ✓ Explore Education, africa
- ✓ Explore Islamic education
- ✓ Explore Étude et enseignement
- ✓ Explore Coran
