Mapping Islamic Learning - The taxonomy of the ICA Tagging System

The taxonomy maps the field of Islamic learning from three main angles. These are the angles we use to approach the data content, with the aim to create as many nodes as possible for the data entry in question. These nodes are the points where our diverse data entries converge and connect. We create them through tagging.

The first angle concerns description of the data’s context.

  • Context WHERE “place” is a category that includes descriptions of the place. We distinguish between:
    • geographical descriptions, for example:
      Context WHERE “place” (Africa, West Africa : Senegal valley)
      Context WHERE “place” (Africa, Sahara : Adrar)
    • description of settlement, for example:
      Context WHERE “place” (type of settlement, urban : Nouakchott)
    • descriptions of political units, for example:
      Context WHERE “place” (political unit, nation state : Burkina Faso)
  • Context WHEN “time” is a category that provides information about the period to which the data relates. This concerns only the content of the data. The date when the data was produced is indicated in the data description section of the template. In the long run we intend to give all dates in CE and Hijri format.
    • Context WHEN “time” (21st Century, 2012 : 5 March)
    • Context WHEN “time” (19th Century, before 1864)
  • Context “Global” refers to global influences like climate change, pollution, population developments, severe catastrophes, pandemics or international policy programs, anything that concerns societies on a global scale, can be referred to in this section
    • Context “Global” (pandemic, Cholera : 1852-60)
    • Context “Global” (policy program, UN Development Program : Agenda 2015 / Millenium Development Goals (MDG))

The second angle provides descriptions of the data content from a meta-perspective.

  • Meta WHICH “endogenous/exogenous” looks at the organizational aspect of learning. It looks at organizations, individuals or institutions from various learning initiatives and classifies them as endogenous, i.e., originating within the locality in question, or exogenous, i.e., appropriated from somewhere else.
    • Meta WHICH “endogenous” (person, Habi Sy : maḥḍara {maḥaẓra})
    • Meta WHICH “exogenous” (organization, state initiative : Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı
    • Meta WHICH “exogenous” (organization, transnational : Deoband Madrasa Network)
  • Meta HOW “methodology” looks at methods of learning or teaching and allows us to indicate various types of learning environments and technologies, such as hardship/suffering, challenge/competition, textual transmission, spiritual transmission, examination, open syllabus, etc.
    • Meta HOW “methodology” (hardship/suffering, begging)
    • Meta HOW “methodology” (textual transmission, memorization)
    • Meta HOW “methodology” (spiritual transmission, dream)
    • Meta HOW “methodology” (challenge/competition, public debate)
  • Meta What for “goals/results” is a classification that hints at aims of learning and/or teaching. Such goals could be of a representative nature, like representing a nation, a region, or Islam in general; but it could hint at means of protection as well, like protecting cultural heritage, the nature or humankind; further, it could hint at means of empowerment of various kind, e.g. economic empowerment through alphabetization or the learning of technical skills. Empowerment could be understood moral as well. Further, a goal could be to reduce influence of secular visions or religious perspectives.
    • Meta WHAT for “goals/results” (representation, lineage : Idaw ʿAli)
    • Meta WHAT for “goals/results” (empowerment, economic : technical skills)
    • Meta WHAT for “goals/results” (protection, cultural heritage : local / Timbuktu)
  • Meta WHAT “doctrinal reference” indicates the doctrinal reference of organization involved in Islamic learning, such as Sunni, Shi’i, Sufi or Salafi, etc
    • Meta WHAT “doctrinal reference” (sunna maḏhab, mālikī)
    • Meta WHAT “doctrinal reference” (Ṣūfī, Qādirīya)

The third angle is the physical description of the data content, including questions of quantity, how learning is done, by whom learning is conducted, and how learning is organized.

  • Physical HOW means “technology” is a description that categorizes technologies of learning. This concerns the media used (spoken, written, mass mediated) as well as the technological dimension of learning
    • Physical HOW means “technology” (spoken, rhyme)
    • Physical HOW means “technology” (mass mediated, audio : cassette)
  • Physical HOW many “quantity” links the data content to questions of measurable or estimated quantities 
    • Physical HOW many “quantity” (students, estimated : 15)
    • Physical HOW many “quantity” (mosques, ministry survey : 250)
  • Physical WHO “student/teacher” is a description category that provides further information about the individuals and groups involved in the learning process and describes them according to their qualities, such as gender, age, language or other identity markers.
    • Physical WHO “student” (gender, female : married)
    • Physical WHO “teacher” (age, >60)
    • Physical WHO “student” (language, Wolof)
  • Physical WHENCE “authority” tries to capture the multiple ways in which authority may be constituted, like certificates, reputation, origin, institutions, etc
    • Physical WHENCE “authority” (reputation, spiritual genealogy)
    • Physical WHENCE “authority” (reputation, chain of transmission)
    • Physical WHENCE “authority” (origin, nationality : Saudi Arabia)
  • Physical HOW org “organization” sheds light on the organizational background of the setting of Islamic learning that indicates the type of institutional (from the madrasa to the radio station), semi-institutional (from the learning circle to the madḥ session) or non-institutional setting (from autodidactic learning to conversations in the hair salon)
    • Physical HOW org “organization” (semi-institutional, learning circle)
    • Physical HOW org “organization” (non-institutional, night club)
    • Physical HOW org “organization” (institutional, radio station : Radio Islam / Nairobi, Kenya)