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Paper short abstract:

This paper investigates exposure of the migrant fuqarâ to an opposing system of Islamic knowledge production and usage in cities. The paper examines how the fuqarâ adjust themselves to the new socio-religious and institutional setting they encounter upon their arrival in urban setting.

Paper long abstract:

This paper investigates exposure of the fuqarâ (graduates of Qur'anic schools from the Darfur region of western Sudan) to an opposing system of Islamic knowledge production and usage; namely the central Sudanese style, which has been shaped by and grounded in a conservative Arabic culture. Prior to this experience, the fuqarâ are trained in rural Qur'anic schools whose learning style has been constructed in accordance with the tolerant and "liberal" Fur culture. The fuqarâ are exposed to the central Sudanese learning style and form of Islam when they migrate to cities in search of further Islamic education and employment. As the Islamic traditions and socio-cultural context of religious institutions in central Sudan differ from those of Darfur, the paper examines how the fuqarâ adjust themselves to the new socio-religious and institutional setting they encounter upon their arrival in central Sudan. The paper seeks to map what kinds of challenges the fuqarâ face while trying to study or find work and how they overcome the difficulties? A further interest of the paper has been to understand how the institutions in urban areas evaluate the candidates' mastery of previously-acquired knowledge, as well as how the fuqarâ adapt to the new socio-religious and cultural environment. The paper takes a comparative approach to the regional disparities, cultural differences and religious diversity, thus contextualising the fuqarâ from the Darfur Region.