Srinagar, Aug. 6 -- By Bilal Ahmad Khanday

I was born into a Muslim family in Kashmir and grew up studying in the local darasgahs that were common across the valley in the 1980s and 1990s.

These modest schools taught us the Quran, along with hadith, fiqh and tafsir. My predecessors and contemporaries still remember how seriously these local seminaries prepared ordinary people to understand their faith.

Years later, after completing degrees in science and education, I earned a master's degree in religious studies. That journey helped me see what our tradition once valued and what we are slowly leaving behind.

Many preachers today present their own understanding of Islam as the only correct one. That approach ignores one of the faith's ...