Islamic Schools in Pakistan
President Musharraf faces a difficult challenge. Following the London bombings, Islamic schools in Pakistan are once again the focus of criticism, but relation of the current regime and radical Islamists is ambivalent. Imtiaz Gul reports
Islamic school in Muridke, Pakistan An everyday scene in Darul-Uloom Sarhad in the heart of the medieval city of Peshawar: young students aged 10 to 16 rock back and forth as they recite Koran verses in order to learn them by heart, without having been taught their meaning. The recitations are a fixed component of the eight-year course of study of Islamic theology and law at this Islamic school, or madrassa, which was founded in 1935.
Khalid Binori is the chief administrator at the school, which until recently was extremely popular among Taliban adherents. Binori claims that the curriculum at his madrassa focuses only on pure knowledge and learning.
"Our doors are open; anyone can come here and observe what we are doing. This is an open school, everyone can see and recognize that the only things here are books and people, students and the library. There are no secrets and nothing to hide."
Poverty
The establishment of madrassas has played a significant role throughout Islamic history, and such schools still maintain a great deal of importance in the Islamic world today. Qibla Ayaz, who earned his PhD at the University of Edinburgh, today heads the faculty of Islamic Studies at the University of Peshawar.
"The main task of the Islamic schools is to educate students according to the tenets of Islam," he says in explanation of the cultural background of the madrassas. "The majority of the pupils come from regions known for their religious zeal and piety; they come from highly religious families, but also from the poorer classes of society, who cannot afford to provide their children with a different, modern form of education."
Hafiz Mohammad Harooni, a teacher at the Islamic school in the country’s capital, Islamabad, also cites poverty as the main reason compelling parents to sent their sons to a madrassa: "Boys from all parts of Pakistan come here; they are mostly from poor families or orphans, who do not have enough to eat or clothes to wear. They can get an education here at no cost, while the school takes care of all their needs."
Indoctrination
The problem is not the free education, but the indoctrination of the pupils into schools of thought that are frequently marked by particularly one-sided and strict interpretations of the Koran. The more time the boys spend at a madrassa, the more rigorously they renounce all other world views. These are the pupils the Taliban liked to recruit for their ranks.
"There is a direct connection between the Islamic schools and Islam-based extremism. Many of the madrassa pupils certainly feel called on to follow a path that eventually leads to terrorism," explains Mohammad Hassan Askari, political science lecturer at Punjab University.
Occupation
The number of Islamic schools in Pakistan skyrocketed during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The Muslim resistance against the Soviets was generously supported by Pakistan’s secret service and by US funding.
Many of the madrassas – such as Darul-Uloom Sarhad and Darul-Uloom Haqqania, west of Islamabad – became training camps for the Muslim resistance, the so-called Mujahideen. Several prominent Taliban leaders and followers of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood regularly spent time at the schools.
Now, in the wake of the recent bomb attacks in London, these Islamic schools have once again come under scrutiny. According to information circulated by the British authorities, the four suicide bombers apparently attended one of the Islamic schools as recently as early 2005.
Reform
There is growing pressure on Pakistan’s President Musharraf to finally reform the religious schools in an effort to put a stop to their backing of suspected terrorists. Musharraf has now banned foreigners from visiting the schools. Only recently, he called upon the umbrella organization of Islamic schools in Pakistan to voluntarily register the madrassas.
Registration would entail official recognition of the state curriculum, which includes modern sciences and foreign languages, among other subjects. But the religious schools bridle at what they see as government paternalism.
Khalid Rehman, deputy director of the Institute for Political Science at the University of Islamabad, points out that it would not be easy to change the curriculum of the Islamic schools: "The schools have a certain educational tradition on which their teaching has been based for many years.
In the past they have failed to open themselves up to the modern sciences and new educational opportunities, and this has led to a certain entrenched way of thinking, a certain mentality. This plays a very important role in the whole discussion about the change from within that must take place in these schools."
The necessary reform process will be a long one, fraught with difficulties and tensions. The Pakistani government in particular is called on here to invest much more money in education. A program must be initiated for the children of the poor, to afford them admission to the state schools. This is the only way to realize the urgently needed reforms.
Imtiaz Gul
© DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE 2005
Translation from German: Jennifer Taylor-Gaida
Printversion
Madrassas as Ideological Breeding Grounds?
President Musharraf faces a difficult challenge. Following the London bombings, Islamic schools in Pakistan are once again the focus of criticism, but relation of the current regime and radical Islamists is ambivalent. Imtiaz Gul reports
Islamic school in Muridke, Pakistan An everyday scene in Darul-Uloom Sarhad in the heart of the medieval city of Peshawar: young students aged 10 to 16 rock back and forth as they recite Koran verses in order to learn them by heart, without having been taught their meaning. The recitations are a fixed component of the eight-year course of study of Islamic theology and law at this Islamic school, or madrassa, which was founded in 1935.
Khalid Binori is the chief administrator at the school, which until recently was extremely popular among Taliban adherents. Binori claims that the curriculum at his madrassa focuses only on pure knowledge and learning.
"Our doors are open; anyone can come here and observe what we are doing. This is an open school, everyone can see and recognize that the only things here are books and people, students and the library. There are no secrets and nothing to hide."
Poverty
The establishment of madrassas has played a significant role throughout Islamic history, and such schools still maintain a great deal of importance in the Islamic world today. Qibla Ayaz, who earned his PhD at the University of Edinburgh, today heads the faculty of Islamic Studies at the University of Peshawar.
"The main task of the Islamic schools is to educate students according to the tenets of Islam," he says in explanation of the cultural background of the madrassas. "The majority of the pupils come from regions known for their religious zeal and piety; they come from highly religious families, but also from the poorer classes of society, who cannot afford to provide their children with a different, modern form of education."
Hafiz Mohammad Harooni, a teacher at the Islamic school in the country’s capital, Islamabad, also cites poverty as the main reason compelling parents to sent their sons to a madrassa: "Boys from all parts of Pakistan come here; they are mostly from poor families or orphans, who do not have enough to eat or clothes to wear. They can get an education here at no cost, while the school takes care of all their needs."
Indoctrination
The problem is not the free education, but the indoctrination of the pupils into schools of thought that are frequently marked by particularly one-sided and strict interpretations of the Koran. The more time the boys spend at a madrassa, the more rigorously they renounce all other world views. These are the pupils the Taliban liked to recruit for their ranks.
"There is a direct connection between the Islamic schools and Islam-based extremism. Many of the madrassa pupils certainly feel called on to follow a path that eventually leads to terrorism," explains Mohammad Hassan Askari, political science lecturer at Punjab University.
Occupation
The number of Islamic schools in Pakistan skyrocketed during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The Muslim resistance against the Soviets was generously supported by Pakistan’s secret service and by US funding.
Many of the madrassas – such as Darul-Uloom Sarhad and Darul-Uloom Haqqania, west of Islamabad – became training camps for the Muslim resistance, the so-called Mujahideen. Several prominent Taliban leaders and followers of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood regularly spent time at the schools.
Now, in the wake of the recent bomb attacks in London, these Islamic schools have once again come under scrutiny. According to information circulated by the British authorities, the four suicide bombers apparently attended one of the Islamic schools as recently as early 2005.
Reform
There is growing pressure on Pakistan’s President Musharraf to finally reform the religious schools in an effort to put a stop to their backing of suspected terrorists. Musharraf has now banned foreigners from visiting the schools. Only recently, he called upon the umbrella organization of Islamic schools in Pakistan to voluntarily register the madrassas.
Registration would entail official recognition of the state curriculum, which includes modern sciences and foreign languages, among other subjects. But the religious schools bridle at what they see as government paternalism.
Khalid Rehman, deputy director of the Institute for Political Science at the University of Islamabad, points out that it would not be easy to change the curriculum of the Islamic schools: "The schools have a certain educational tradition on which their teaching has been based for many years.
In the past they have failed to open themselves up to the modern sciences and new educational opportunities, and this has led to a certain entrenched way of thinking, a certain mentality. This plays a very important role in the whole discussion about the change from within that must take place in these schools."
The necessary reform process will be a long one, fraught with difficulties and tensions. The Pakistani government in particular is called on here to invest much more money in education. A program must be initiated for the children of the poor, to afford them admission to the state schools. This is the only way to realize the urgently needed reforms.
Imtiaz Gul
© DEUTSCHE WELLE/DW-WORLD.DE 2005
Translation from German: Jennifer Taylor-Gaida
Qantara.de
Educational Opportunities in Pakistan
Bringing the Poor at Par with the Others
For many of Pakistan's poor, the much-criticised Islamic schools are the only possibility to get an education, because they don't ask for tuition fees. But do all graduates leave the school as radicals? Abdul Hafeez and Peter Koppen take a closer look
In the Prison of Social Poverty
Pakistanis in Britain
Most of the Pakistanis now living in Britain moved to Britain in the 1950s. Their hopes, unlike those of the Indians, were to be disappointed. They feel shut out and rejected, not just by the white working class, but also by Hindus and Sikhs. Bettina Schulz reports
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Pakistan in Germany's Media
Too Little Research, too Many Clichés
Especially since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the German media have presented a distorted view of Pakistan. Much of the reporting reveals that reporters often take a prejudicially selective view. An analysis by Thomas Baerthlein
Educational Opportunities in Pakistan
Bringing the Poor at Par with the Others
For many of Pakistan's poor, the much-criticised Islamic schools are the only possibility to get an education, because they don't ask for tuition fees. But do all graduates leave the school as radicals? Abdul Hafeez and Peter Koppen take a closer look
In the Prison of Social Poverty
Pakistanis in Britain
Most of the Pakistanis now living in Britain moved to Britain in the 1950s. Their hopes, unlike those of the Indians, were to be disappointed. They feel shut out and rejected, not just by the white working class, but also by Hindus and Sikhs. Bettina Schulz reports
Interview Ayesha Jalal
Pakistan: A State with a Split Personality
President Pervez Musharraf is a man with more than one face. His contradictions match Pakistan's history. This nation was defined along religious identity and, from the very beginning on, the army was a source of unelected political power. In this interview Ayesha Jalal elaborates on these issues
Pakistan in Germany's Media
Too Little Research, too Many Clichés
Especially since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the German media have presented a distorted view of Pakistan. Much of the reporting reveals that reporters often take a prejudicially selective view. An analysis by Thomas Baerthlein
Printversion
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