Yasir Qadhi – Mutual Hostility between Western Academy and The Madrassa

			There is a big elephant in the room between the Academy and the madrasa.
		

			And that is that the both of them
		

			view the other in a very unfavorable light, there is a almost hostile view of the other. And as
somebody who's been on both sides of the fence, I think that hostility is actually unhealthy for
knowledge.
		

			I say,
		

			from my personal experience, that I have benefited immensely from both paradigms. And personally, on
a personal note, I thank Allah for having blessed me with both of these paradigms. And I wouldn't be
who I am without both of these paradigms. But I'll also mention that while I was in each paradigm,
each one strongly criticize the other, to the point of anathematized it like, obviously, the mother
has a system is extremely hostile to the academy, extremely hostile. And the version or vision they
have of the academy is basically I'm sorry to say this, but a bunch of is another, you know, like,
people who are out to destroy their religion, there is no head in them at all. And I am still asked
		

			this, despite the fact has been almost 20 years since I've been, you know, accepted dealer, but it's
still a must. You studied with non Muslims. Your professors didn't believe in Islam? How could you
go study with them? They're cool foreigners? How could you study with them? Right. And in fact, in
my particular case, not only am I question, but one of the easiest ways to dismiss a critic of mine,
who wants to dismiss me, in anything that I've done, only needs to mention, oh, he studied at Yale.
		

			That is the refutation. He is no longer a good person. He has been corrupted by those people. All
right. So it becomes very ad hominem and actually it's effective amongst many groups of people,
large groups of the Muslims, if they don't like something, you say, Have you reached a view or a
point to something that they don't like? Rather than engage with what is said they will simply
dismiss you Oh, Hala, Sione Rama to you know, hello, as his leg has been corrupted by
		

			the system. Now, obviously, I mean,
		

			and that's a dumb idea. What was the saying goes right, if you don't know what it is, you're going
to easily hate it. But again, Flipside. I've been in the academy.
		

			There is strong suspicion of the academy against the mother of the students. There is a dismissal of
the fact that a mother as a student might possibly be a critical thinker. There is definitely
definitely an arrogance. Not in every single person, but perception is there, that what is this guy
gonna benefit? He's, he's a, he's a fundamentalist believer.
		

			And actually, to be honest, I have experienced this myself as well. Your research can be dismissed
within the academy.
		

			If it appears to defend, like, for example, I have critiqued some of these notions of you know,
Syriac legends of the Quran, who have attended conferences I was I was,
		

			I have given my views and whatnot. And you find the mumblings. Oh, this guy's a preacher.
		

			This guy studied in Medina. So ironically, each side dismisses the other dismiss isn't made because
of my other background, right? So the ad hominem goes both ways. You would think the academy should
be better, no will lie. It's not. It is not better. And it is very, and you know, the first person
actually said this to me way before I was in the academy, is a person whom I was very fortunate to
have met price. You've heard of him? Dr. Mustapha Azami. Dr. Mustapha dazzle me when the King Faisal
award back in the 80s, the Hadith guy, right. And Allah humbly passed away. When I was a chemical
drink student I studied with him a little bit. I studied highly with him when I was an engineering
		

			student in in America. And he said to me that his PhD dissertation, which was a defense of Hadith
and refutation of shock, right, that his dissertation, he felt hurt, that it was dismissed by the
Academy, because he was a practicing Muslim. And, oh, this is just, you know, polemics. This is just
apologetics. This is somebody who's just defending the faith. And he was like, but refute what I'm
saying. Not the fact that I'm a believer. And I remember this when I was 19 years old. I heard this
from him. And I
		

			had offered that I had right. And subhanAllah 20 years later, when I was in the academy, that phrase
would come back and I saw this myself without your line, and I still see this and I'll be honest
here. I mean, I resigned
		

			From the Academy because
		

			multiple reasons but of them is that I felt that somebody's as public as I am in the preaching and
teaching side and their insight that I don't have a place in the western Academy
		

			for
		

			journaling, either
		

			call
		

			me Mr. Heaton doll Seanie
		

			tells
		

			me what to feed.
		

			Sunday it
		

			feels
		

			to me,
		

			Jenny dasa, down to
		

			me down