ABSTRACT
Qur’anic schools have typically been characterized as institutions of conservation. They are repositories of tradition and are hence relatively stable and unchanging. Rites, rituals, traditional knowledge, and traditional practices are all preserved within the institution of the Qur’anic school. My research in Morocco, Yemen, and Nigeria has borne this notion out in many ways. These institutions do conserve tradition. However, the ways in which they do so are more complex and interesting than they have heretofore been characterized. In addition, the schools also have a healthy disposition toward change, in all cases being relatively unafraid to incorporate new methods and even new subjects. Drawing from research in Yemen, this chapter deals with the various ways in which Qur’anic schools act as agents of cultural, educational, and religious preservation in Sana’a. This chapter provides a further illustration of the notion of learning as legitimate peripheral participation, whereby students become members of the community of practice of Islam, locally (in their neighborhoods or city), in the country, and also in the global community of believers. In so doing, this chapter presents an example of how an alternative framework for characterizing Qur’anic school teaching and learning better captures the complexity of what they do and why they are valuable to communities of practice.
