Darul Uloom Al-Madania is a private Islamic madrasah in Buffalo, New York and the largest Deobandi madrasa in North America,[1] that is devoted to producing Islamic scholars (ulama) and huffaz with academic study up to high school. It is one of the oldest institutions in North America to offer the traditional Deobandi dars-e-nizami curriculum.
It was founded by Dr. Muhammad Ismail Memon (d. 2023) and is run by his sons Moulana Mansoor Memon, Moulana Ibrahim Memon, and Mufti Husain Ahmad Memon. Mufti Masood Memon Makki, the eldest son of the school's founder, serves as the current president. Both the founder and the current president were students of renowned 20th-century Hadith scholar Shaikh Zakariyya Kandhlawi.
The school and its related institution, Darul Uloom Canada, have long been accused of corruption and physical and sexual abuse,[2][3] including a 2008 sex scandal that ousted the co-founder and principal Ibrahim Memon.[4][5] The widespread sexual abuse and negligence has led to several lawsuits being filed in 2021 against the school and former and current teachers and administrators, including sexual abuse allegations against the founder, Dr. Ismail Memon.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
Darul Uloom Al-Madania was founded by Dr. Ismail Memon Rahmatullah Alay. The search for a suitable building that would serve as an institution began in 1986, when Ismail Memon and Shaikh Ibrahim were living in Waterloo, Canada. In 1989, the two prepared to purchase a property in Dunkirk, New York, only to have it rejected. One year later in 1990, they again prepared to purchase a property on Dodge Street in Buffalo, New York. Once again this sale was rejected. On June 17, 1991, a property was obtained on North Davis Road in East Aurora, New York. However, a permit was only obtained to house 18 people. In 1992, a contract was signed for a property in Hamburg, New York. However, the sale was cancelled due to local opposition. Later that year, another property was obtained on Sycamore Street in downtown Buffalo, only to have the sale cancelled by the owners.
In 1993, Holy Mother of the Rosary Cathedral of the Polish National Catholic Church, relocated to Lancaster and was purchased and converted into a mosque and boarding school. On March 3, the church across from the newly formed Masjid Zakariya, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, was also purchased and converted into a women's school. In 1996, the original property on Sycamore Street was obtained again and this time the purchase was complete. The new building was turned into the Jamia, or the boys' boarding school. The original building purchased for the boarding school then became the Darul Khalil secular studies school. In 2002, a 6-acre (24,000 m2) plot, previously used as a youth detention center, was purchased and the Jamiah was moved there.[13]
Schools
Darul Uloom Madania has three different schools: Madinatul Uloom, Darul Rasheed, and Darul Khalil Academy, a K–8 standard private school, which is recognized by New York State. In addition there is an online distance learning course called eAlim, which was launched in 2010.
Boys' School (Madinatul Uloom)
Darul-Uloom Al-Madania Boys' campus covers an area of approximately six acres consisting of sixteen buildings with hundreds of dorm rooms. Every room is furnished with beds. The school offers three Islamic degrees for men:
Regular Academic Education: For boys nine years and older, there is an in-house academic education up to the eleventh grade. This course runs simultaneously with one of the following religious programs:
Hifz Course: An approximately three-year program for the complete memorization of the Qur'an, along with an accredited State of New York approved curriculum for secular studies from the fourth to the tenth grade. Upon completing the program, students receive a Hafiz Al-Qur'an certificate.
Alim Course: A six-year, in-depth study of the Qur'an, Tafseer, Hadith, Fiqh, Arabic Grammar, and Tajweed. Completion of this course leads to a certificate of Islamic scholarship.
The boys' campus includes and indoor gymnasium, outdoor soccer/football field, fully equipped kitchen and cafeteria, field with gazebo, school bookstore, and an orchard.[14]
Girls School (Darul Rasheed)
Darul-Uloom Al-Madania Girls' campus covers approximately one acre of land which is separated from the boys' school and is located on another street. The main residence building, Darul-Rasheed, houses more than 100 students. There are two degrees that are offered for women.
Regular Academic Education: There is an in-house academic education set up till the tenth grade. This runs simultaneously with the main Alimah course.
Alimah Course: A six-year, in-depth study of the Qur'an, Tafseer, Hadith, Fiqh and Tajweed leading to a certificate of Islamic scholarship.
The women's campus includes an indoor hall, a fully equipped kitchen and cafeteria, gym, an outdoor recreational field, and a boarding hall.[15]
The Darul Rasheed is located in the former Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church, which was built in 1916 and was closed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo in 1993.
Day School (Darul Uloom Academy)
Darul-Uloom Academy is the most recent addition to Darul Uloom Madania, being established in 1999. It is a New York Board certified pre K–5 private school. Like most private Islamic schools, students are taught a combination of both academics, and religious material. Included in the syllabus are math, English, social studies, science as well as Arabic, Quran, and Hadith. Students are also offered a variety of activities including arts and crafts, physical education, and field trips.[16] The program has around 250 students.[17]
Masjid Zakariya
Masjid Zakariya is the main prayer hall of the seminary and is open to the public. Its supports two minarets donned with two crescents. These crescents are approximately 160 ft above ground and are almost 6 feet in length. The mosque is 20,000 square feet with a balcony section separate for women.
Adhering to the tenets of Islam, the mosque has 5 daily prayers and a weekly Jum'ah prayer. Every day there are 2–3 halaqas, where readings from various Islamic textbooks occur. During Ramadan, the mosque also hosts daily Iftar and Suhoor meals for those that are fasting. It also opens its left wing to travelers for itikaf. There is no appointed Imam of the masjid, instead, various resident scholars and teachers lead the prayers.[18]
The Masjid Zakariya was built in 1904 as the Holy Mother of the Rosary Polish National Catholic Cathedral, and is a designated city landmark.[19]
Damage
On October 22, 2001, a fire caused by a plumber's torch engulfed the building, which was undergoing construction. Despite the efforts of nearly 80 firefighters, the roof collapsed. It took almost three years to raise the 1 million dollars needed to renovate the building. The mosque also offered an open house around the same time to showcase itself to the community. Renovations included adding a basement and dividing the main hall into three sections.[20] The building was initially graced with two tall spires, which were removed in 2008 after a strong windstorm damaged them. They were replaced with two domes.[21]
Jalsa Ceremony
Every year, Darul Uloom Al Madania holds a Jalsa Graduation Ceremony for all the graduating huffaz and ulama (girls) . The ceremony usually takes places in June and happens after the Dhuhr prayer and lasts until sundown. During the ceremony, the new huffaz are presented with a white
turban placed on their heads, whilst the girls are presented with a white shawl.
eAlim (Distance Learning Program)
Darul Uloom Al Madania launched a distance learning program called eAlim in mid 2010. Similar to the Alim course, it was program that was designed to orient the student with Arabic and Quran. The subjects taught included Arabic grammar, syntax, and morphology,
Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence), Hadith, Uloom al-Hadith (Sciences of Hadith), Aqidah (Islamic Theology), and Seerah (Biography of the Prophet Muhammad).[22]
Sexual abuse and corruption allegations
Physical abuse
Students enrolled in the school in the 1990s allege vicious beatings by two sons of Dr. Ismail Memon who were also teachers at the school, Ibrahim and Mansoor, with various hardware store items. These beatings were nearly daily and included items like extension cords, solid piping, hangers, and wood canes.[2][6] One former student alleges that it was tantamount to torture.[6] Students reported being left bloodied and bruised.[2]
A former student alleges that a custodian punched him in the chest after an infraction. Mansoor Memon hit him with a hockey stick after this student complained. [5][7]
A former student alleges that the head of the female dormitory, Shehnaz Patel, neglected the student when she fell extremely ill. After she complained to the supervising doctor, Patel allegedly physically assaulted the student and would continue to abuse the student in front of others. [8]
A former student alleges that he did not report Dr. Ismail Memon's sexual abuse because of the notorious physical abuse inflicted on the students at the school by Dr. Ismail's adult sons.[9]
Sexual abuse
Ibrahim Memon 2007 sex scandal
Ibrahim, then a 40-year-old married father of seven, persuaded one of the female students at the school Sajida Khan, then-21, to secretly marry him for sex.[4] Because of strict gender segregation mandated by the school, Ibrahim proposed to her secretly during Khan's last year at the school in a locked basement. He schemed to meet her secretly in Buffalo and in Virginia, where Ibrahim paid for a short-term apartment for her. Ibrahim denies they were ever married.
He was also accused of maintaining the same relationship with another one of his former students, who has alleged that he groomed her. Ibrahim secretly married her as well, though she now believes that marriage never happened. When she told her father, he removed her from the school. [2][4]
Ibrahim was forced to leave his post for a minimum of seven years. He was also mandated to never teach female students in the community.[2]
He eventually circumvented this ban and began to teach female students online. He would marry another of his female students, Asmaa Naviwala, who he allegedly made false promises to. Naviwala eventually divorced him. [2]
Child Victims Act Lawsuits 2021
A series of lawsuits against the school, including against Dr. Ismail Memon, were filed in 2021 under the New York Childs Victims Act alleging significant and widespread sexual abuse at the school by multiple parties. Dr. Ismail died in 2023.
A former student, Abdullah Islamovic, living in Canada filed a lawsuit against Darul-Uloom Madania for not doing enough to protect him from sexual abuse in the 1990s and early 2000s. [5][7] He alleges that between the ages of 11 and 13, he was sexually abused by a teacher at the school, who was also the head of the boys' dormitory.
Another former student, Usman Makhdoom, also living in Canada, filed a lawsuit and accused Dr. Ismail Memon of sexually abusing and assaulting him in the 1990s when he was 13 to 14 years old. He also accused Dr. Ismail of the knowledge of other sexual molestation happening at the school and not doing enough to protect students. [10]
A student, Mohammad Khan, accused Ibrahim Memon, Mansoor Memon, and Dr. Ismail Memon of turning a blind eye to the severe sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of another student in the 1990s, when he was between 10 and 14 years old. Khan reported rape to the administration, after which he was ridiculed by Ibrahim Memon. Khan was eventually removed from the school.[6]
Two former female students allege that they were sexually abused by a female teacher at the school, Shehnaz Patel, in the 1990s and 2000s. Both of them were underage when this abuse took place. Patel received special permission from school administrators to let one of the students sleep inside Patel's bedroom in the school. They allege the school "condoned and/or covered up" Patel's sexual abuse and that she probably assaulted other students as well. [11]
An anonymous former student alleges that Dr. Ismail Memon sexually abused him from the ages of 12 to 15 years old. He feared complaining about Dr. Ismail's repeated assaults because of the notorious physical violence caused by Dr. Ismail's adult son, likely Ibrahim or Mansoor.[9]
Another anonymous former student alleges that Imran Khan, a teacher and head of the boy's dormitory sexually assaulted and committed battery on the student when he 11 to 12 years old in the 1990s. The student alleges that the school administration knew of the sexual abuse. [12]
A former female student alleges that a teacher at the school, Hafiz Sahib, sexually abused her starting from the age of 14. Sahib threatened her to not tell anyone. The former student alleges that he continued to sexually harass her through phone calls and messages even after her marriage, attempted to break into the students' house without permission, and would stalk her even when she was overseas. [8]
Corruption and coercion
A former student alleges that items donated to the school by parents were relegated to the school store, where they were sold back to the students. [2]
A senior teacher, who did not have requisite immigration documents, was allegedly required to perform duties beyond his teaching agreement. Ibrahim Memon allegedly tried to blackmail a student accused of engaging in homosexual activities to malign the teacher's character. [2]
