Education system in An attack on Madrassas

INTERNATIONAL FORUM FOR RIGHTS AND SECURITY Education system in Pakistan: An attack on Madrassas International Forum for Rights and Security

Chairman Dr. Mario Silva

Editor – in – chief Michael Giles

2 Bloor Street West, Suite 1902, Toronto, M4W 3R1, Canada Tel: +1 416 323 5776, Fax: +1 416 972 5071 Email : [email protected] Web : http ://www.iffras.org

Copyright © 2017, International Forum for Rights and Security Contents

Title Page No.

Preface 5 1. Education System of Pakistan 7 2. Educating the Women of Pakistan 15 3. Pakistani education system and impact 23 of Madrassas 4. Madrassas as terror or jihadi factories 33 5. Madrassas with inflexible teaching curriculum 43 6. Islamic teachings and madrassas of Pakistan 50 7. What are the reasons for post 1980 Radicalisation 59 of madrassas in Pakistan? 8. How can we alter the education system 66 of Pakistan? 9. What role could be played by madrassas in 75 shaping the education system of Pakistan?

Preface Education not only represents a major investment in human capital development but at a larger level bears a lasting impact on a nation’s moral, civil and cultural capabilities. Thus, it is clear that education structure of a nation plays a vital role in its national development. However, the education system in Pakistan has failed to play this role.

The present volume lays down the challenges facing the Pakistani education system and shows how the policies being pursued with respect to education are leading to the creation of a society which is increasingly becoming extremist and fundamentalist in its outlook.

The book specially delineates the characteristics of the Madrassa education system and shows how such Madrassa education flourishing in Pakistan is completely antithetical with the principles of diversity, tolerance, multi-cultural and secularism. The present volume argues that the extremist ideology being taught in the madrassa curriculum is the root cause of Pakistan becoming the hot-bed of terrorism activities and also encouraging prejudice, bigotry and discrimination towards the marginalised sections such as women and religious and sectarian minorities.

The volume highlights how militancy and extremism have become ingrained in Pakistan’s educational system and this has resulted in Pakistan’s education system become a breeding ground for breeding Jihadist ideology.

The present work also takes a look at some of the official policy measures such as the 2009 National Education Policy of Pakistan and argues that such measures and other policy initiatives have been largely unsuccessful in mitigating the spread of extremism and radicalism in Pakistan’s social fabric.

5

Chapter 1 Education System of Pakistan International Forum for Rights and Security

Education, which, stands as the basic need for transforming a child’s future and also of the country one belongs to, should be made compulsory and free. This is the case with many western and Asian nations all over the world in which education to certain age groups is made free.

Pakistan, a nation with a population of 200 million holds a belief of imparting education to its children from age group of 5 to 16 free. This indeed is a reflection of its vulnerability to not let the young blood to get attracted to the on-going terrorist activities in the nation. It is also done to increase literacy rate of the country. The constitution of the Pakistan provides for mandate for providing free education to children of age group 5 to 16. With the passing of 18th Amendment in Pakistan, the 47 concurrent list subjects including education were transferred to federating units as a move towards establishing provincial autonomy. 1

What is Education System?

To better understand what all education and education policies are about, we need to have a look into what is the education system first. Education system is a mechanism which includes institutions which provide learning, textbooks, physical infrastructure, students, faculties etc. It has a main motive of providing formal education to anyone in need and according to the government policies.

Education System of Pakistan:

The education system of Pakistan is comprised of 260,903 institutions and is facilitating 41,018,384 students with the help of 1,535,461 teachers. The system includes 180,846 public institutions and 80,057 private institutions. Hence 31% educational institutes are run by private sector while 69% are public institutes.2

1. http://www.ipripak.org/education-system-of-pakistan-issues-problems-and-solutions/

2. http://www.ipripak.org/education-system-of-pakistan-issues-problems-and-solutions/

8 Education System of Pakistan

Pakistan has been working on improving its education system from grass roots. But due to certain involvement in terror and other informal activities, it lags behind in implementing a stringent policy for education. It has collaborated with certain international organizations in order to facilitate funds and help from UN to get the education policy done. Even after the passing of the 18th amendment which made education a fundamental right, there has been no new trend to be seen in the education or literacy rate of the Pakistan. MDGs and EFA programmes are global commitments of Pakistan for the promotion of literacy.

The fall in the literacy rate is not new for the nation. The colonial setup of education system followed by Islamic methods of imparting education has created a ruckus for the entire nation. A report published by UNICEF indicated that there is just 60% youth literacy rate and adult literacy rate is close to 50%.3

This trend if noticed carefully leads to demonstrate that education policies of Pakistan need a quick and formal check and also it should be made more effective. The female literacy rate is also below par. According to UNICEF, more than half of the population of young adult girls are not enrolled in schools. There is also the culture of same sex schools still prevalent in some rural areas. Where the education is on brink of devastation, the terror activities in the country make it more and more difficult to implement and act on the education policies.

Terror influencing Education:

The number of terrorist attacks on educational institutions within Pakistan has increased in recent years. The Washington Post reports there were 82 attacks from 2000 to 2008, and 642 attacks from 2009 to 2013. The Tehrik-i- (TTP), established in 2007, has taken credit for many of these attacks. In 2014,

3. https://borgenproject.org/7-facts-education-in-pakistan/

9 International Forum for Rights and Security seven gunmen killed over 150 people in a public school in Peshawar. The individuals responsible were found to have ties to the TTP. Through fear, these extremist organizations discourage people living within Pakistan from receiving education.4

Where these terror outfits discourage female education and even affect the education policies of the government, the leaders of the Pakistan get influenced by such terror organizations and put on a soft hand on education policies. , a prominent face of the education system of Pakistan has started many initiatives to reform the education system of Pakistan. The UN even started a funding system in her name, ‘Malala Fund’, to provide aid to school going and also to sponsor the education policies.

There are various other factors related to terrorism, such as spread of Islamic methods of education. The terrorist organizations are so stiff and radical in their thinking that they just do not let the western education system to prosper in the country. The several attacks which are inflicted upon the school children inside the schools are also one of the troubles they cause. Many social activist and NGOs have raised their voices against the government supporting the terror groups and funding them which indirectly affects the smooth functioning of the governmental policies including education. The need for reform is felt at a short distance. But if the education system has to be improved much is to be done against the country government supporting terror groups.

Though, it has been seen that elementary education up to the age of 16 years is a fundamental right enshrined into the constitution, only 2% of the total budget of the country accounts for the education5. This is an alarming situation. Government needs to act swiftly to encourage the ratio of budget

4. https://borgenproject.org/7-facts-education-in-pakistan/

5. https://borgenproject.org/7-facts-education-in-pakistan/

10 Education System of Pakistan or funds allocated to the education policies. If not, then there will be lack of infrastructure and facilities and at all levels the children’s future will be at stake. The biggest problem of allocating a low profile budget towards education is the appointment of less competitive faculty and staff in the schools which would not be capable enough to provide quality education and indeed the future of country and children will be in shafts.

Poverty and Education:

One of the major factors, why the students either, drop out of schools at an early age, or are not even sent to schools for studying is poverty.

The poverty levels in Pakistan are too below the par that each family faces shortage of working hands in the family. Plus the Islamic family rules of increasing birth rate has contributed indirectly towards the increase in number of people feeding on hunger. The poverty ridden class of Pakistan does not allow their children to go to schools for studying. Rather they believe that the children should start earning at an early age to support the family needs. This factor has created an imbalance in the society and its functioning.

Where on one hand the government claims for education as a fundamental right, on the other hand the poverty crisis of the families living below poverty line restrict their children from schooling. This is a situation in which both government and society need to participate to improve it from its core. The members of NGOs and social activist must create awareness campaigns amongst the class and make the families understand the need for education. Even the government should start providing proper amenities in need for the economically ridden families and provide them with support of proper wages,

11 International Forum for Rights and Security employment and food so that their levels can be raised and they also find it feasible to send their wards to schools for education rather than making them work for basic amenities. Due to such poverty people generally tend towards becoming Jihadi’s or end up getting.

Pakistan National Education Census 2005-06:

The first ever census of the education system was conducted by Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Statistics division, Federal Bureauof Statistics. It covered 245,682 institutions, including public and private schools, colleges and universities, professional institutions, vocational and technical centres, mosque schools, deeni madaris, and non-formal education centres.6

This was the first ever conducted education census in the nation. It has enabled the government and other agencies to have a broader look at the education system of Pakistan. The census followed a holistic approach to determining the data of the education system of the country. It has covered several schools and other institutions to check into the imbalances of the system and administration. But one of the laggings the education census has obtained and has been noticed is that, it did not collect the data on age of school going children which was crucial to determine the required policy framework.

It is clear that Pakistan is still a long way from achieving universal primary enrolment. As indicated 1 by the primary Net Enrolment Rate (NER)’s estimate of 62%, over 35% of the population 5 to 9 years of age is not in school given a population of 5 to 9 years old of some 19.5 million, this means that about 7 million children aged 5 to 9 are out of the education system.7

6. http://unesco.org.pk/education/teachereducation/files/sa4.pdf

7. http://unesco.org.pk/education/teachereducation/files/sa4.pdf

12 Education System of Pakistan

At most the education system of Pakistan does not provide facilities for children to move ahead of the primary levels of schooling. At present, the average enrolment per grade at the middle elementary level is less than one-half the average enrolment per grade at the primary level. It is a disgrace of the education system as compared with the education system of other countries. There must be a system of implementation in the system which allows the students to raise their standards of classrooms from primary to elementary.

Pakistan has gross enrolment at primary level of almost 80%. Given the number “The education system of of repeaters in primary grades and the Pakistan is comprised of 260,903 institutions and incidence of students beginning their is facilitating 41,018,384 primary school after age 5, it is likely that students with the help most of the difference is due to overage of 1,535,461 teachers. students. Numerically, this means that The system includes 180,846 public institutions over 2.5 million students in primary school and 80,057 private are over 9 years of age. Any reduction in institutions. Hence 31% this number, possibly by decreasing the educational institutes are repetition rate, may open up places in the run by private sector while 69% are public institutes” primary system for some of children not currently in school.8

Private education centres or schools enrol 31% of the children in basic education system. In urban centres, private schools account for slightly more students (51%) than the public sector (49%). However the situation is reversed in rural areas, where 80% students attend public institutions of education. This trend is a setup of the education system of Pakistan. It gives us an image of how the

8. http://unesco.org.pk/education/teachereducation/files/sa4.pdf

13 International Forum for Rights and Security children in rural and urban areas differ in their opinion of attaining education.9

In Pakistan, there were 14 million girls studying in basic education in 2005, compared to 18.3 million boys. In other words, there were over 4 million more boys than girls in basic education, which results in a Gender Parity Index (GPI) of 0.76. This situation is the saddest part of the education system of Pakistan. It should be checked and girls should be encouraged to attend schools. There should provision of proper facilities like washrooms etc. for the female students. The terror group’s interference in the girl’s education policy should be made null. These organizations do not support the female education and create troubles for them. So for the safety of girl child, parents do not send their girls to schools.

Vacant teaching posts and untrained teachers both affect the quality of education provided to Pakistan’s youth. In 2005/06, basic education hada vacancy rate of 6.5%, though the higher secondary level had the largest vacancy rate, with over 9% of the teaching positions remaining unfilled. Most teachers in the public school system had received professional training: (only 5% were untrained). However, by comparison, over half of the teachers in private schools had received no professional training.10

Conclusion

The grim and disappointing situation of the Pakistan’s education system needs a check and balance from both government agencies and society. The society of Pakistan is a conservative and restricted to Islamic teachings and practices. This indeed affects the education system. Female girl child is not sent to school in comparison with the boys. There are very few schools which have opted for western education standards, most of the schools in rural areas operate on Islamic methods of teaching. The reform is the need of the hour.

9. http://unesco.org.pk/education/teachereducation/files/sa4.pdf

10. http://unesco.org.pk/education/teachereducation/files/sa4.pdf

14 Chapter 2 Educating the Women of Pakistan International Forum for Rights and Security

Education imparted is the seed sown for the future of the community asa whole. It becomes the duty of the government and the society as a whole to plant the seed within the child’s life. Pakistan is a state where the education system is ruining with the progress of the world. The rise in terrorism and fault in the policy making bodies of the country have been one of the major factors contributing towards the decline of literacy rate and even in the growth of radicalism.

The major loss to the community is that, its half of the gender, girls especially, are left out of the focus of education policies. The need to implement stronger hold over the girl education has been felt. The female literacy rate is declining in Pakistan. There are more number of dropouts from the schools due to the lack of proper amenities like washrooms. Moreover, Pakistan being an Islamic follower country, the conservative society doesn’t allow for girls education.

Why is Female Education important?

It has been seen that women education is a hot matter of debate. History has spoken of the communities not allowing its women to participate into educational institutes and education training centres like schools and colleges. It has been only since the 1980s that women have been fully made to be part of education system. This factor of not allowing women to participate and gain education has left many societies to be still on the stronghold of conservative mediums of preserving patriarchy.

Be it female child or male child, it becomes the duty of the government and parents to provide the necessary education to the child. Education is the only medium which can give a child a right to be known in the world through his/her

16 Educating the Women of Pakistan signatures. Female education is to made necessary, as the disparity in providing education can lead to imbalance of sought which would be beyond the repair.

Conditions of Pakistani Female students:

Pakistan education system is in ruins (as discussed above). Same is the condition of the female education in the country. It has been observed that:

1. Only 68% of the 15-23 years of age of girls can read and write as compared to 83% boys of same age.

2. In 2012, girls completed an average of 5.5 years of schooling compared with an overall average of 6.3 years. The poorest girls only completed an average of 0.76 years.

3. 48% of the poorest girls aged 5-16 are enrolled in school, compared to 68% of the poorest boys the same age.

4. Girls make up just 42% of secondary school students, and only one in 10 will complete their secondary education.1

This deteriorating condition of education system of Pakistan is a proof that country is not developing and education is not paid full heed. The female education is a measure through which any nation can fight social issues concerned with female life. Many practices such as child marriage and polyandry are practices on large scale in Pakistan. To stop such practices and change the ideology of the people, which is prevalent from ages and is rigid now, education is the only tool.

The government should implement policies in favour female education and make it free and necessary.

1. http://aserpakistan.org/document/aser/Pakistan_Fact_Sheet2016.pdf

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What are the problems faced by girls in getting education? There has been a lot of debate on how girls can be educated, but we need to first figure out what actually are the issues faced by girls in getting education?

1. Poverty, the biggest hurdle in any of the developmental tasks has also created a barrier for girls to be educated in Pakistan. The disparity over the boys is prevalent in families with more number of people. Boys are made to study and girls are used as help in household chores. Many parents prefer their children to be earning at an early age instead go to school. Girls in Pakistan urban areas are employed as domestic help and in huge numbers. This restricts them from going to school.

2. In some Northern Tribal areas of Pakistan girls are restricted from schools on the basis of conservatism. Malala Yousafzai is from this area and she suffered resistance from Taliban terror group for promoting female education.

3. Pakistan has the worst figures for dropouts and ranks second in the world in dropout cases most of whom are girls. The country also ranks third in literacy rate, with over two-third of the illiterate population being female.

4. A mere 54 per cent of school-age girls were enrolled in primary school as of 2013, with enrolment numbers dropping sharply to 30 per cent for secondary school. These rates are even on a higher side in rural areas.

5. The budget or the funds allocated to the education industry is below par. The Pakistani government has failed to enact education as a fundamental right. With low budget the infrastructure and other amenities suffer.2

The Malala Fund:

Malala Yousafzai, the co-recipient of 2014 Nobel Prize has been advocating

2. https://borgenproject.org/girls-education-pakistan/

18 Educating the Women of Pakistan for female education all over the world. The 15 year old is a youth icon now and many are following her foot-steps. It has been important in a country like Pakistan, from where she belongs that someone may turn up to protest the gender disparity going on in providing education.

Malala was shot in her head for supporting female right of education by Taliban gunmen. She underwent surgery and now she is one of the prominent leaders in supporting female education in her country. After her recovery, she decided to take up this issue and prima facie become a host for support of education to females. Pakistan has been ranked as the least gender equitable country in the by the World Economic Forum.

It has given the nation such a ranking, as the traditional, conservative, and religious and other such practices are prevalent in the nation which forbids the education policy to workout, especially female education needs. The 2012 annual report from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan details many challenges women there face, including being “attacked and killed on account of asserting their rights to education, work and generally for choosing to have a say in key decisions in their lives.”3

The Malala fund sponsored with the help of actress Angelina Jolie helps girls around the world to get education. It is a useful and up to date method for supporting girls education. Started after the attack on Malala Yousafzai, then a girl from Swat Valley an area dominated by Taliban of Pakistan, has now become the resource for funding education of girls.

How can the problems faced by girls in Pakistan be solved?

The challenge female child stems from variety of human rights issue.

3. https://journalistsresource.org/studies/international/human-rights/pakistan-women-equality-education- economic-development-research-roundup

19 International Forum for Rights and Security

1. With an estimated 22.6 million children (aged 5 to 16) out of school, Pakistan is facing an education crisis. This education concern is disproportionately affecting girls, who make up two-thirds of out-of-school children. With so many girls not able to achieve more than an elementary education in Pakistan, USAID has made it a priority to improve girls’ education in Pakistan.

2. From Taliban resisting the female education to the legacy of child marriage, many such issues have crumpled up in the lives of girls which create a ban from being educated. This is to be dealt on humanitarian grounds. Pakistani government should ban the terrorist group’s interference in the matters of public concern and moreover the human rights and fundamental rights should be made enforceable by the court and should be kept on checked.

3. Only 54 per cent of girls are enrolled in primary school, and this number drops to just 30 per cent for secondary school. It is estimated that only one in 10 will complete her secondary education. The system has been responsible for poverty of the people. Pakistan’s per capita is just $11per month. Most of the population lives below poverty line. This leads to the parents restricting girls from going to school and rather working maybe as domestic helpers. Government needs to fix the situation before it is late.

4. USAID is also working to improve other dimensions of Pakistan’s education crisis. USAID has done so by building and repairing more than 1,135 schools since 2011, and by educating more than 660,000 primary-level students through its reading program. USAID has also committed over $70 million to implement its Empower Adolescent Girls strategy in order to help educate more than 200,000 young girls in Pakistan.

5. In addition to improving students’ access to education, USAID is investing in

20 Educating the Women of Pakistan teachers by repairing and building the 17 Faculty of Education centres in Pakistan as well as by providing more than 3,100 scholarships for aspiring teachers to earn their education. USAID has also trained more than 25,000 teachers and school administrators since 2014. “Malala Yousafzai, the 6. Terror in north Pakistan has led many co-recipient of 2014 families to flee. The displaced families suffer Nobel Prize has been at the helm of social service sector. The advocating for female humanitarian grounds are weak. In these education all over the displaced families girls are at the biggest world. The 15 year old loss, getting them married at early age is a youth icon now and and restricting their education. Measures many are following her to improve include proper facilities to the foot-steps” displaced families and awareness campaigns.

This can be done with the help of social activists and NGOs. Government’s role is also legitimate. It must provide with food and shelter to displaced families so that they can re-join the race of existence.4

7. There should be setting up of more community schools in the rural areas where the girls can approach without fear and resistance to get education. Such community centres must get fund on regular basis from government and also their maintenance and appointment of qualified faculty to teach, with basic education training, should be made criteria for such community centres.

How has weather calamity affected education in Pakistan?

Where on one side education is already into shackles, floods of 2010 have made the situation grimmer. Government’s low budget of education has contributed

4. https://borgenproject.org/girls-education-in-pakistan/

21 International Forum for Rights and Security

to low maintenance of buildings of schools, “The 2012 annual report low on infrastructure and thus all got lashed from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan away with the flood waters. The aim of details many challenges the government should be implement few women there face, features which would enhance the education including being “attacked system of Pakistan, especially for girls. and killed on account of asserting their rights 1. Increase enrolment, attendance and to education, work and retention of children, particularly girls in generally for choosing to have a say in key decisions vulnerable communities. in their lives” 2. Improve school infrastructure in flood- affected areas, by constructing model, flood- proof schools and promoting widespread replication.

3. Enhance the quality of education by training teachers and providing teaching and learning materials.

4. Make education a national political priority and empower children to campaign for their right to a good quality education.

Conclusion

Female literacy rate should be observed from a closer point of view. It becomes the duty of the society and government to implement and make girls eligible for obtaining education. Activities banning the girl’s access to schools should be dealt on a productive method. This can be done only with the help and participation of local communities. The rituals such as polyandry or child marriage should be banned in the state of Pakistan. If in all efforts raised a qualitative response then patriarchy and religious tolerance both can be eliminated.

22 Chapter 3 Pakistani education system and impact of Madrassas International Forum for Rights and Security

What are Madrassas?

Madrassas is an term which means an educational institution providing formal or informal education. The word madrassa is derived from the triconsonantal sematic root and refers to learning and the process of study through wazn, meaning a place where something is done.

Madrassas specifically do not mean a place where Islamic teachings are done. There are teachings in subjects too such as mathematics or sciences. It is simply a term given to an educational institution where learning takes place.

During the early start of 20th century, the madrassas were following teachings from . But during the contemporary times it has changed to preach Islamic teachings and as well other subjects like natural sciences, mathematics etc. This is a progressive state of art. But, even though the madrassas have been making learning from other subjects still it has been a conservative and radically Islamic centre, especially in countries like Pakistan.

Madrassas of Pakistan:

Madrassas are popular in Islamic countries like Pakistan. They operate as a medium of instructions of Islamic teachings. In Pakistan, madrassas are as popular as any other formal or informal educational institute. Many members of Taliban were educated at madrassas in Pakistan which are sponsored by Saudi Arab nations. These madrassas not only teach but also inflict teachings which are radical and against humanitarian grounds.

The main source of funding for these madrassas comes from . Saudi Arabia is the main sponsor of the madrassas for the all over. It

24 Pakistani education system and impact of Madrassas has been noticed that madrassas in Pakistan and are sponsoring terrorists. They are “During the early teaching young children how to fight the war start of 20th century, and radical Islamism. This will create an impact the madrassas on world peace as a whole. The target is not were following what madrassas are teaching; rather the focus teachings from is how these terror activities are carried on in Quran. But during the presence of government? The only answer the contemporary which seems feasible for this type of question times it has changed is counter question the Saudi Arabia’s funding to preach Islamic to such madrassas. The answer lies within the teachings” source.

Madrassas of Pakistan as a main source of terror activities:

Pakistan is a popular name for terror activities. It has been supporting the terror groups as if the government wants to create a world with no peace prevailing. The main source of targeting public around the world is these terror groups which operate from countries like Pakistan. Where on one hand government is helping terror activities to grow, there are institutions within the state which operate as training centres for terrorists. Majorly, all of the Taliban group of terrorist are given training in Pakistani madrassas. They provide with teachings to the young and energetic crowd about the jihad and make them ready for the war. Many of the students attending madrassas turn up joining ISIS or other militant organizations.

This is a critical situation in which the western powers and UN should interfere. The resultant factor may be the closing up of madrassas or inflicting a ban on

25 International Forum for Rights and Security radical Islamic teachings. With the on-going war in Afghanistan, new type of madrassas has turned up. These are fully sponsored by Saudi Arabia and they inculcate teachings of radical Islamism. This situation is controversial. Saudi Arabia wants to inculcate young minds with Islamic teachings and thus sponsor the madrassas. Plus, it even takes care of providing young militants trained in jihad and different type of Islam, which is contrary to original version of Islam, to the Afghanistan war.

Although the government of Pakistan has “Pakistan is a popular been putting in effort to restrict the spread of name for terror madrassas in the nation and in this effort it has activities. It has shut down nearly 180 madrassas but still the been supporting the terror groups as if the number is high and government is not working government wants to upto the mark in processing out these Islamic create a world with religious centres which are spreading hatred. no peace prevailing all of the Taliban group Around 26,000 madrassas are registered in of terrorist are given Pakistan with a religious umbrella organization training in Pakistani madrassas” called Ittehad-e-Tanzeemat-e-Madaris. Launched after the Pakistani Taliban attacked an army-run school in Peshawar in December 2014, killing 141 people — including 132 children — the crackdown by the government of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, known as the National Action Plan, is proving too little too late, said A. H. Nayyar, a -based scientist and peace activist who has studied madrassas. The Islamic schools are proving too powerful politically and able to thrive without official support, he said.1

Observers trace some of the strong currents of religious radicalism in Pakistan

1. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/feb/2/pakistans-radical-madrassas-retain-clout-despite-c/

26 Pakistani education system and impact of Madrassas back to similar institutions. Critics argue that the government has fallen short on its promise to police the madrassas and that the most extreme among these institutions have allowed a radical and violent view of Islam to grow here, even beyond their walls.2

Some figures relating to the count of Madrassas in Pakistan:

1. Report claims that some 3.5 million students were enrolled with 35,337 madrassas in Pakistan while another quote the Auqaf authorities as saying the number of students was 26,131. Conflicting official figures put the number of madrassas “Around 26,000 madrassas in Punjab at between 14,000 and 16,000. are registered in Pakistan Similarly, the Ministry of Religious Affairs says with a religious umbrella there are 7,118 madrassas in , while organization called Ittehad- the provincial Auqaf department puts their e-Tanzeemat-e-Madaris. number at a modest 2,800. The Islamic schools are 2. In Baluchistan, the number ranges between proving too powerful 2,704 and a whopping 13,000 while in Khyber politically and able to Pakhtunkhwa the official figures are between thrive without official 1,354 and 3,136. support”

3. The report also discusses some surveys conducted by researchers. One such survey published in a book by C. Christine Fair claims madrassas are not the most prominent recruitment venue for militancy; indeed fewer than a quarter of the militants (33 of 141) ever attended theological schools.

2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pakistan-is-still-trying-to-get-a-grip-on-its-madrassa- problem/2015/12/16/e626a422-a248-11e5-9c4e-be37f66848bb_story.html?utm_term=.534d448ea94e

27 International Forum for Rights and Security

4. Another survey by Tariq Rahman says the madrassa students were the most intolerant of all the other student groups in Pakistan.3

These figures are not only unmanageable but also disturbing too. They need to be checked before the entire nation is taken over and there is only Islamic intolerance left.

Madrassas were supposed to be the teaching “The conservative and and learning centres where students and alike radical perceptions could learn Islamic and other subjects free of of society of Pakistan cost. The system now has changed and these have also contributed to towards the failure madrassas have now become a hub of training of the governmental terror activities. To effectively deal with this efforts. The society situation would be to eradicate them at all. The and community thinks in favour of providing effort in destabilising the culture of madrassas their children with should begin with no permission for opening up a cultural and religious new learning centre. This would stop the spread notions of Islam” of further hatred. The Taliban and other terror outfits are trained in madrassas in Pakistan and then they become the ardent supporters of this system. They protect the madrassas and even sponsor funds from other Islamic nations such as Saudi Arab.

Government in Pakistan is making an effort to control and prevent further opening up of new madrassas. But the effort is going all in vain. The conservative and radical perceptions of society of Pakistan have also contributed to towards the failure of the governmental efforts. The society and community thinks in favour of providing their children with cultural and religious notions of Islam. They do

3. https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2015/07/31/report-says-over-35000-madrassas-operating-in- pakistan/

28 Pakistani education system and impact of Madrassas not prefer to send their wards to the English medium or other government run schools. This in turn promotes the effectiveness of madrassas.

Poverty is another factor which leads to educating child at the madrassas. The below poverty line living class of citizens of Pakistan who send their children to madrassas is because of the free education and impact of culture upon their minds. The children learn free of costs at madrassas and even are paid stipend which helps them financially.

Type and number of madrassas in Pakistan:

There is hardly any credible information on the unregistered madrassas. However, those which are registered are controlled by their own central organisations or boards. They determine the syllabi, collect registration fees and examination fees. They send examination papers, in and Arabic, to the madrassas where pupils sit for examinations and declare results.

Central Boards of Madrassas in Pakistan

Name Sub-Sect Place Established Wafaq ul Madaris Multan 1959 Tanzim ul Madaris Lahore 1960 Wafaq ul Madaris Shia Lahore 1959 (Shia) Pakistan Rabta-tul- Jamat-i-Islami Lahore 1983 madaris-al-Islamia Wafq-ul-Madaris Ahl-i- Faislabad 1955

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At the time of independence, there were 245, or even fewer, madrassas in Pakistan. “Poverty is another factor In April 2002, Dr. Mahmood Ahmed Ghazi, which leads to educating the Minister of Religious Affairs, put the child at the madrassas. figure at 10,000, with 1.7 million students. The below poverty line They belong to the major sects of Islam, the living class of citizens of Sunnis and the Shias, but mostly the former, Pakistan who send their Pakistan being a predominantly Sunni children to madrassas country. is because of the free Among the Sunni, there are three sub-sects: education and impact of , and the Ahl-i-Hadith culture upon their minds” (salafi). Besides these, the revivalist Jamat- e-Islami also has its own madrassas.4

What exactly is and should be taught at madrassas?

What we all know is what madrassas teach: Radical Islamic teachings in the name of Islam. But what should be taught and what was taught earlier during the independence days of Pakistan? This remains as important as the activities of madrassas, because it is only with these teachings that madrassas are capable of producing jihadist.

Before Mulla Nizam Uddin standardised the curriculum known as the Dars-i- Nazami, different teachers taught different texts to students. Shah Abdul Rahim (d. 1718) had made an attempt to create a fixed curriculum which was taught at the Madrassa-i-Rahimiya and emphasized the manqulat (such as hadith). The Dars-i-Nazami, on the other hand, emphasized the maqulat. Thus there were

4. http://himalmag.com/the-madrassa-and-the-state-of-pakistan-tariq-rahman/

30 Pakistani education system and impact of Madrassas more books on grammar, logic and philosophy than before.5 “The government’s duty and its functions Conclusion: in providing with the education and The madrassas were the religious learning awareness amongst centres which used to provide learning free of the below poverty line class of people cost to students. Be it rich or poor, there was is very important to no discrimination. But this was past. Today, prevent terror outfits madrassas are acting as one of the intolerant brainwashing the minds of children and young and radical outfits brainwashing the minds of blood” young students and making them fight for the revolution.

In the name of revolution, which according to terror outfits means having Islam all over the world, the madrassas are a definite helping hand and have caused many uproars in training young minds with the terror demands and sending them to war. These young aspirants then join militant organizations like Lashkar- i-Taiba, Taliban and ISIS etc.

The government’s duty and its functions in providing with the education and awareness amongst the below poverty line class of people is very important to prevent terror outfits brainwashing the minds of children and young blood. In its efforts though, the Pakistani government has failed till now.

The government should take productive and stern steps to counter the effects of terrorist activities and stop madrassas from becoming a training centre for jihad.

5. http://himalmag.com/the-madrassa-and-the-state-of-pakistan-tariq-rahman/

31 International Forum for Rights and Security

Education is one of the fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution of Pakistan which promises free and compulsory education for all between the age group of 5 to 16 years. The families living in Pakistan must take the advantage of such a right and make their wards study in government aided schools where medium is English and subjects taught are different from Islamic education.

32 Chapter 4 Madrassas as terror or jihadi factories International Forum for Rights and Security

Madrassas, originally meant as religious “After 9/11, US have schools started as a part of providing with been on a strict note to avoid any of the Islamic education to the children free of cost terror attacks on its have now turned into jihadi factories. These grounds. Pakistan based religious institutions are a part of almost all madrassas train the the Islamic nations and are run by the funds young minds with jihadi provided from Saudi Arabia activities and make them so conservative and In Pakistan there is uncountable number radical in their approach of madrassas acting as jihadi factories. that they become ready to die for Islam” The number is uncountable because the government does not have requisite data to get it published Another reason attributed could be that, the government is scared and weak to comment upon or interfere in the matters of madrassas. These madrassas are an on-going rift between the government and the terror outfits. The government’s effort to keep a check on them goes in vain as the society and community favours madrassas. It seems that the Pakistani government is sandwiched between the clashes of two titans and is busy playing a primary school blame game.

It has to be noted that, if another terror attack occurs on the territory of on any western nation or specifically US that is linked with the terror outfits of Pakistan such as the madrassas, there would no new dawn for the nation as US won’t be sparing the jihadi factories this time. After 9/11, US have been on a strict note to avoid any of the terror attacks on its grounds. Pakistan based madrassas train the young minds with jihadi activities and make them so conservative and radical in their approach that they become ready to die for Islam.

34 Madrassas as terror or jihadi factories

After the 2007 siege at ’s Lal Masjid, there is no denying thefact that there are jihadi sanctuaries that must be dealt with. There are no online applications for militant training in Waziristan, but some radicalized madrassa- goers pass the jihadi aptitude test, where they are cherry picked for militant training.1

In Pakistan, there has been a clear divide between secular and religious communities. The religious view the clean-shaven “brown sahibs” (anglicized Pakistanis) as having gone astray and dub them “Friday Muslims” to emphasize their lack of religious commitment.

The sharp acceleration in the number of these first began under General Zia, and was financed mainly by Saudi donors (though ironically the US also played a role in this as part of the anti- Soviet Afghan jihad). Since the oil boom of the early 1970s a policy of exporting not just “In Pakistan, there has been a clear divide petroleum, but also hard-line , between secular and became a fundamental tenet of Saudi foreign religious communities. The policy, partly a result of a competition for religious view the clean- shaven “brown sahibs” influence with Shia Iran. Although some of (anglicized Pakistanis) the madrasas were little more than single as having gone astray rooms attached to village mosques, others and dub them “Friday are now very substantial institutions: the Muslims” to emphasize their lack of religious Darul Uloom in Baluchistan is now annually commitment” enrolling some 1,500 boarders and a further 1,000 day-boys.

Altogether, there are now an estimated 800,000 to one million students enrolled

1. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/altmuslim/2010/05/terror_factories/

35 International Forum for Rights and Security

in Pakistan’s madrasas: an entire, free Islamic “In the secret document, education system existing parallel to the consisting of 111 pages, increasingly moribund state sector, in which the Counter Terrorism a mere 1.8 per cent of Pakistan’s GDP is spent Department (CTD), on government schools. The statistics are Punjab, disclosed that 32 dire: 15 per cent of these schools are without proscribed organizations a proper building; 52 per cent without a and nine of their splinters boundary wall; 40 per cent without water; 71 groups had become “a per cent without electricity. There is frequent nursery of terrorism in absenteeism of teachers; indeed, many of Pakistan” these schools exist only on paper.2

Media reports in May 2016 quoted a senior counter-terrorism (CT) officer indicating that a confidential report titled “Proscribed/Jihadi Organizations” noted that major banned outfits in the country were still recruiting students to wage jihad in Afghanistan and Kashmir, and that such non-state actors had become very dangerous for Pakistan as well.

In the secret document, consisting of 111 pages, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), Punjab, disclosed that 32 proscribed organizations and nine of their splinters groups had become “a nursery of terrorism in Pakistan.” Banned organizations like Islamic State (Daesh) and Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT) had also gained ground, establishing special wings in the country, with their ‘commanders’ recruiting terrorists. Adjacent areas of Bahawalpur, Muridke, Sialkot and some southern Districts of Punjab - long dominated by prominent domestic terror formations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba - have now become a breeding ground for these foreign formations.3

2. https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/international-politics/2014/04/inside--terror-schools

3. http://www.newageislam.com/islam,terrorism-and-jihad/tushar-ranjan-mohanty/the-madrasas-in- pakistan-s-tribal-grounds-are-factories-of-suicide-bombers/d/107559

36 Madrassas as terror or jihadi factories

The deeper we try to dug in, the more pathetic figures will arise. The madrassas in Pakistan are now proven terror training centres. These are the intolerant institutions which work on jihadi and Islamic ideologies and wish to create a world with Islamic preaching.

What Hegemonic Power United States says? “There are number of madrassas operating The United States and other western powers the rural levels in areas are of the firm opinion of the shutting down of Pakistan such as the jihad factories. After the attacks of 9/11, Baluchistan. These US have been very much considerate in madrassas spread radical dealing with terrorists and terror producing Islam and train young states. unemployed youth in It even has contradicted Pakistan government waging a war against the for failing to stop these madrassas from liberal world” further spreading. There has been a rapid increase in madrassas since 1947, the year in which Pakistan was formed.

Successive governments of Pakistan have failed in order to bring down what is the main cause of terrorists activities around the world.

The Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies in its report in 2005, comments upon the number of madrassas present in Pakistan and their rise since 1947.

37 International Forum for Rights and Security

Madrassas in Pakistan, 1947-20034

Madrassas as jihad factories in rural Pakistan:

There are number of madrassas operating the rural levels in areas of Pakistan such as Baluchistan. These madrassas spread radical Islam and train young unemployed youth in waging a war against the liberal world. They operate freely and without any fear because the government in power in Pakistan has failed to reach at the levels of rural development and eradicating unemployment from the nation. Major population in rural areas live below poverty line and

4. https://www.rsis.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/WP085.pdf

38 Madrassas as terror or jihadi factories government is helpless. So in order to stabilize the family needs, the youth take up training at these madrassas and get employed to spread terror.

The youth is paid with huge amounts of money and promise to take care of their families if get “shahadat” during a war or in any activity related to it.

The government of Pakistan is not only supposed to stop the jihadi factories but also needs to take care of the issues such as unemployment, poverty or education system as a whole. The efforts in this direction will stop the youth to get attracted and lured by the charms of jihad and indeed pay for ban of terror groups.

Teachings of Jihad: what is taught in the name of Islam?

Madrassas were established to promote Islam. With course of time they grew, slowly, but gradually with the help of sponsored funding system. The madrassas of early 20th century were focussed on promoting Islam and Islamic teachings. It was seen that the madrassas also put in an effort to teach other subjects like mathematics, English or Urdu etc. But with course of time things changed. Now days these madrassas and many which have recently came into the picture are teaching jihad to the students. Jihad means struggle or war which is to be carried out in order to sustain the self-existence. The madrassas teaching radical and controversial essence of Islam and promoting Jihad are now becoming popular.

In Pakistan there are many such madrassas acting as jihadi factories and promoting students to go to war. The government has shown up a failed transaction in getting rid of such madrassas. As mentioned in the previous chapter of this book, the only solution to stop madrassas from spreading terror

39 International Forum for Rights and Security activities would be to ban them at all and restrict the opening up of any new madrassa. A closer look at the teachings taught in these madrassas is given below:

The students range in age from 8 and 9 to 30, sometimes to 35. The youngest boys spend “These students much of their days seated cross-legged on the also study Islamic floors of airless classrooms, memorizing the jurisprudence and Koran. This is a process that takes between six Islamic history. months and three years, and it is made even The oldest of those more difficult than it sounds by the fact that attending madrassa, the the Koran they study is in the original Arabic. postgraduates, if you In a typical class, the teachers sit on the floor will, are enrolled in the with the boys, reading to them in Arabic, and mufti course” the boys repeat what the teachers say. This can go on between four and eight hours each day.

What Westerners would think of as high-school-age and college-age students are enrolled in an eight-year course of study that focuses on interpretation of the Koran and of the Hadith, the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. These students also study Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic history. The oldest of those attending madrassa, the postgraduates, if you will, are enrolled in the “mufti course.” A mufti, in Islam, is a cleric who is allowed to issue fatwas, or religious rulings, on matters ranging from family law to the rules governing the waging of jihad, or “holy war.” (One room in the school’s administration building houses upward of 100,000 fatwas issued by the madrasa over the years.) There

40 Madrassas as terror or jihadi factories are about 600 students in the mufti course. Very few of the students at the madrassa study anything but Islamic subjects. There are no world history courses, or math courses, or computer rooms or science labs at the madrassa.5

Conclusion:

The name given to madrassas as Jihadi Factories is rightfully justified. The madrassas these days, especially in Pakistan, are promoting ideas and ideologies of radical Islam. Their activities are sponsored by the terror groups and even by some western nations. The US especially has been a biggest sponsor of the madrassas because in order to get students to go to the warfront.

The situation is critical and needs an alteration and ratification in order to stop the terror from spreading further into the minds of young blood. The madrassas are responsible enough for brain washing the children of their schools and making them ready to wage a war. The development of madrassas is a far seen case, but if as such these madrassas continue and government keeps on failing in its attempts to restrict them, then sooner the world will face a devastating crisis of the terror.

The activities of madrassas in rural areas have also inflicted terror in many parts of the world. The people living in rural areas of Pakistan are more of conservative in nature. They can be easily manipulated and made to realize that, the true meaning of Islam lies in spreading terror, as the madrassas have been doing from past so many years. The intensified situation of poverty ridden class of Pakistan is also the duty or responsibility of the government. The government must take proper actions against the eradication of poverty and unemployment so that no youth gets into the shackles of terrorism and every citizen embraces

5. http://partners.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20000625mag-taliban.html

41 International Forum for Rights and Security what true Islam is all about: peace and tranquillity.

Education system of Pakistan needs a moderate change. Though education is a fundamental right enshrined in the constitution of Pakistan but it lags proper implementation. Thus, the free education, boarding, meals and housing etc. provided by madrassas attract the youth more and they get inclined towards madrassas. But no one knows yet whether these madrassas are producing learned or intellectual men. Rather they have become a sanctuary ad a breeding ground for terrorists.

42 Chapter 5 Madrassas with inflexible teaching curriculum International Forum for Rights and Security

Madrassas in their initial course of establishment were supposed to teach religious knowledge to the students and spread the message of Islam. But as time passed and the new developments took place in the Islamic culture the curriculum of the madrassas underwent a change and from being the religious teaching centres, they transformed into the terror promoting groups.

Now it seems that madrassas have changed. They are working on radical philosophy and promoting hatred towards other religions. They influence youth to come and study at madrassas and then inflict upon them with the radical philosophy and making them turn into jihadist. The special pay scales and other benefits to the family of jihadi lactates the youth to join terror outfits. Many of the Taliban have been part of madrassas from Pakistan and today are the most vulnerable people on the planet. Full of extremism and pessimism for other religions and its people, these jihadists carry on the terror activities bereft of any humanitarian concerns.

Prominent policy reports and articles in the media suggest that enrolment in Pakistani religious schools, commonly known as madrassas, is high and increasing. According to estimates, a decade ago, Pakistan had about 25,000 religious seminaries all across the country. Now, however, the number is estimated to be around 35,000.1

More variant effect of rising number of admissions into madrassas is because of the low budget and an improper implemented policy of education of the Pakistani government. The Pakistani government provides lowest of the budget to the education ministry which discourages the education system of Pakistan. Moreover the madrassas are fully sponsored by the elite strata of the state and even receive funds from Saudi Arab nation which allows it to work

1. https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/03/19/pakistans-unreformed-madrassa-enterprise/.

44 Madrassas with inflexible teaching curriculum independently and provide not only education but food, lodging etc. free of cost. This factor “According to attracts the lower middle class to get their estimates, a decade wards admitted to madrassas than in the ago, Pakistan had government run schools which are in rotten about 25,000 religious conditions and without proper infrastructure seminaries all across and untrained faculty or teaching staff. the country. Now, however, the number Inflexible teaching curriculum: is estimated to be The correlation between Islamisation and around 35,000” madrasa education lies in the fact that they complement as well as supplement each other. Religion being the key aspect of Pakistan’s cultural heritage and identity, the educational system (of which madrasa is a constituent unit) carry the responsibility to expand and strengthen the heritage. Islamisation can be considered one of the reasons behind the proliferation of the madrasas in Pakistan. And at the same time, madrasa as an independent unit adds to the progression of Islamisation through its ideology and followers.2

The basic structure of the curriculum is that, from the beginning of the day the students are made to recite the Quran back and forth. They practice by speaking loudly or some hushed-resound of Quran verses. The motto is to learn Quran as it is in its basic form: Arabic. There then comes interpretation, can it be assumed that the manipulated version of Quran and its teachings are taught to students? Well, yes! Madrassas are in their contemporary form taught and promote radical philosophy of Islam. Their main motive left is to make students join terror groups. They intensify the curriculum to a next stage of what is known

2. http://www.globaleducationmagazine.com/madrasa-education-pakistan-context-government-policy/

45 International Forum for Rights and Security as Islamisation of the teachings or promoting Jihad.

It is not only the Madrassas, but Pakistani formal education system also that promotes fundamentalism and extremist notion. Dr. A.H. Nayyar, a retired professor who has studied the effects of dramatic shift remarks: “They had lessons on Islamic principles and Islamic practice and Islamic history in books on English, in books on social studies. And in some cases also in books on mathematics. More troubling, says Nayyar, is the very radical and militant view of Islam that was inked into the country’s national public school curriculum, and into “The students are made the hearts and minds of students. “There to recite the Quran back were lessons in textbooks which actually and forth. They practice told students, and still continue to do in the by speaking loudly or latest books, that jihad is enjoined upon all some hushed-resound Muslims and getting ready for jihad, not just of Quran verses. The by fighting yourself, but also if you can’t fight motto is to learn Quran supporting it by providing it money and help as it is in its basic form: and so on and so forth, is supposed to be duty Arabic” of each and every Muslim,” he remarks. . “No wonder that jihad has now become so deep- rooted in Pakistani society.” 3

The quality of teaching varies greatly at madrassas, with some offering an education that is comparable in quality and curricula to some of the better private schools in Pakistan, while others teach only religious subjects and push a latent sectarianism. Since Pakistan’s inception, madrassas have been popular as they provide free schooling, food, and sometimes free room and board, to

3. https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-08-21/madrassa-myth-pakistan-public-schools-may-be-problem

46 Madrassas with inflexible teaching curriculum their students, giving poor families an opportunity to get their children at least some level of education at no direct cost.4

The madrassas in Pakistan are teaching students radical Islamic knowledge and making them more intolerant rather than being secular. This will impact the education industry of Pakistan too. As seen under Zia-ul-Haq regime, the curriculum of the public schools was also moderated with. The education ministry was asked to inculcate Islamic teachings amongst the students; so that they can be taught what the Muslim community is all about.

Lack of trust and coordination between government agencies and Madrassas:

Any country which has a working government requires its citizens and citizen oriented communities to work according to the norms of governance. Similar is the case with Pakistan, where a working government is established, though not stable, neither democratic, requires its citizens to obey laws made by the government and work according to the norms of the government.

This is not so near to our concern. We are more concerned about the workings of madrassas and their coordination with the Pakistani government. Till the recent times it has been noticed that the education system in Pakistan is deteriorating at a very high speed. Lack of infrastructure and absenteeism of the faculty or teachers have cost students their future. Then comes the role played by the religious schools, madrassas are the centre of education of Islam or religious studies. They teach free of cost and also provide with food and shelter. This attracts the young youth to come and join them.

But this scenario has one more face which is more dramatic and has caused

4. https://www.dawn.com/news/636106

47 International Forum for Rights and Security a tough strife between the government and the madrassas. The madrassas in rural and some absconding areas teach and preach jihad. They inculcate within their students radical Islamism. This is intolerable for the government. The government wants to eradicate the entire system of madrassas from its territory.

An important part of the National Action Plan (NAP) is to improve situation of religious schools (seminaries) and enable their students to become part of mainstream, which is almost ignored as different departments are working without any mutual coordination.

Presently, three federal departments and provincial governments are working in this regard but due lack of coordination and seriousness they are unlikely to reach practical result.

A committee constituted by Interior Ministry headed by secretary religious affairs is also ‘trying’ to reform religious education. Additional secretaries’ education and interior are members of this committee. A member told The News that the pace at which this committee is working would take decades to formulate any plan to take care of millions of students getting education in Madrassas. All the efforts are being made to have control over the religious institutions from all departments, he said.

Provincial governments, which are actually controlling authority, are not ready to move over the issue. The only thing being done is to register these Madrassa, which in no way will improve their condition, commented another member. Purpose to include madrassas in NAP was to improve standard of education to the level that students of Madrassas should be able to play effective role

48 Madrassas with inflexible teaching curriculum in the society. Now ministry of religious affairs, provincial governments and Interior Ministry are functioning without any coordination on Madrassa reform programme and some religious leaders are opposing the registration.5

The majority of Pakistan’s 15,000-16,000 madrassas are registered religious schools that provide some level of learning combined with food, shelter and clothing for poor children. The problems emanate from the 1,000 or so unregistered madrassas, located primarily in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), many of which preach jihad and anti-Western themes.6

Conclusion:

The situation in Pakistan has always been a controversial one, whether itis related to policy formulation or policy implementation. Similarly, the education system of the Pakistani government has been rotten down. Under this grim situation does come the role played by madrassas of Pakistan.

The madrassas are self and foreign sponsored bodies. They were established to make young children students of Islam and preach the knowledge of Muslim community as a whole. But with the passage of time or in recent century these schools have turned up into the preaching centres of jihad, which indeed is a non-acceptance part of Pakistani government.

Moreover the rigid curriculum of the madrassas has also been a debatable topic. They are still following the age old methods of implementation of education and are concerned with just teaching Islam. This is a rigid and conservative system which is to be banned. The government is making an effort in this direction but the speed of the government is very slow and the enactment of policies thus,

5. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/38804-madrassa-reform-continues-to-be-ignored

6. https://www.dawn.com/news/636106

49 International Forum for Rights and Security lags behind.

Another factor is that, we know that working of madrassas as jihad preachers or religious schools is directly or indirectly done by restricting itself within the remains of the government of Pakistan. So, there is required a coordination plan between the madrassas and the government to provide better education and facilities to the students. There should be a check on the madrassas in rural and conservative areas where they preach jihad, should be totally banned to function. This can be done by coordination between government agencies and madrassas.

50 Chapter 6 Islamic teachings and madrassas of Pakistan International Forum for Rights and Security

Madrassas, the religious teaching centres for the Muslims, were established with the primary aim to inculcate Islamic teachings to the young students. Madrassas all over the world are working on the primary aim to teach students and even the elders on aspects such as how to read Quran, how to offer prayer etc.

This seems to be noble but is it true? In the beginning or the early phase, madrassas were set up by Prophet Muhammad’s order were actually religious teaching centres. The centres worked on the policy if implanting the seeds of the Muslim community tenets within the students. But with the passage of time and coming up of new states and majority-minority distinctions, the teachings in madrassas have been altered to a far varied extent.

This change or alteration is the result of new radical policies coming up and disturbing the basic structure which was setup in the past centuries. Now, considering the case of madrassas based in Pakistan, it is well known fact that many are operating just to imbibe anti-humanitarian feelings of hatred and terror. The government is working to address the issue on these facts available but the methodology is quite old and reluctant one so as to find a solution to the mushrooming madrassas.

These madrassas have now become a terror training centres and even somehow indirectly the government of Pakistan supports their activities and provide necessary relaxations. Teaching radical policies of Islam and inculcating extremism in minds of young students is an unjustified way of dealing with issues of being a minority and thus radicalised towards other religions of the world. The major target of the terrorist groups related to jihad or Islam is the western countries. The madrassas train their students in such a way that they

52 Islamic teachings and madrassas of Pakistan find the western nations and Asian nations such as India as their enemies.

The factor that these were earlier the religious centres where teachings related to Islam were taught cannot also be ignored. Thereby, spreading light on this factor that still there are some of the renowned madrassas in Pakistan which still operate on the religious notions.

What is the role played by foreign powers on countering Madrassas:

Since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Islamic schools known as madrasas have been of increasing interest to analysts and to officials involved in formulating U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia. Madrasas drew added attention when it became known that several Taliban leaders and Al Qaeda members had developed radical political views at madrasas in Pakistan, some of which allegedly were built and partially financed by donors in the Persian Gulf states. These revelations have ledto accusations that madrasas promote Islamic extremism and militancy, and are a recruiting ground for terrorism.1

Relationship between Madrasas and other Educational Institutions:

Madrasas, in most Muslim countries today, exist as part of a broader educational infrastructure. The private educational sector provides what is considered to be a quality Western-style education for those students who can afford high tuition costs. Because of their relatively lower costs, many people turn to state schools, where they exist. However, in recent years and in more impoverished nations, the rising costs and shortages of public educational institutions have encouraged parents to send their children to madrasas. Supporters of a state

1. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS21654.pdf

53 International Forum for Rights and Security educational system have argued that the improvement of existing schools or the building of new ones could offer a viable alternative to religious-based madrasas. Others maintain that reforms should be institutionalized primarily within Islamic madrasas in order to ensure a well-rounded curriculum at these popular institutions.2

Case Study:

We would like to quote certain case studies of madrassas and their teachings, which will give a wider and better picture of what actually is the real scenario.

• Case of Deobandi: Research and interviews by a leading daily Financial Times (FT) into the madrassa phenomenon across south Asia show that “Deobandi” has become shorthand for a Sunni Muslim extremist, at least among some commentators. The ubiquitous Deobandi madrassas spawned across Asia since the school’s foundation in 1866 were once seen by Muslims as “forts of Islam” amid the westernisation of British India.

More recently, however, they have been described as dens of and violence. Numbers are disputed, partly because so many madrassas are unregistered, but there are certainly tens of thousands in South Asia today. Wave after wave of Deobandi graduates have gone on to found their own institutions across the region, with a centenary report in 1967 recording the foundation of 8,934 Deobandi madrassas and maktabs (primary schools) in the first 100 years. In Pakistan, the number has risen from 244 in 1956 to about 24,000 today, most of them Deobandi. In Bangladesh too, they are multiplying rapidly. As for India, Madani, a revered Islamic scholar says he has “no idea” how many there are, but “there’s not a single city without

2. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS21654.pdf

54 Islamic teachings and madrassas of Pakistan

one. Ninety-nine per cent are Deobandi.” Across the three countries, there are perhaps six million students at madrassas.

That is a small share of the Muslim school-going population, but the problem lies with the fact that some of the Pakistani and Afghan graduates are internationally known terrorists and murderers. Pashtun leaders of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Pakistani Taliban fighters attended Deobandi madrassas in the same region.3

Madrassas are now part of the terror outfits. Many, as noted above have been part of training Taliban and other Afghan based terror organizations. The culture in Pakistan is mostly conservative, so many parents and families, irrespective of their financial status will to send their wards to madrassas. This shows that there is support from the rich elite classes of Pakistan, providing with funds and sponsorships to the madrassas and its activities. The major portion of the funds comes from Saudi Arab. The Saudi Arabs sponsors the madrassas and in turn wants to spread of Islam all over the world, again a radical-extremist view of being a vulnerable religion in the world.

In a country like Pakistan with low GDP and growth rate and resultant as more poverty stricken people, the role played by education here becomes very crucial. The least of all if any youth will pick up arms in name of religion and become a terrorist would be because he would be needing money, which these terror outfits pay lavishly, for his family’s survival. But what if nothing like poverty has caused him to pick up arms but instead the education given to him has brain washed his mind and now he is ready to lay down his life for religion or simply saying he is a terrorist with mind setup of killing people who do not belong to Islam. This is somewhat a typical question which arises in the context of poverty

3. https://www.ft.com/content/d807f15a-7db0-11e5-98fb-5a6d4728f74e?mhq5j=e7

55 International Forum for Rights and Security and education. Can education really stop or make a person such vulnerable one?

The answer is yes. In madrassas of Pakistan, education inculcated is not simply mathematics or social studies; rather students are asked to learn Quran and then the holy book is manipulated and explained to young minds which get carried away easily. The incentives of luxurious life to family and huge amount of funds which the family will receive after their death, makes them run for taking up arms. Plus the factor of imbibing the religious notion of, “shahadat” in the name of Allah makes them emotionally blank.

Subjects taught at Madrassas:

In a typical madrasa, students usually offer “Madrassas are now part two courses of study: one based on religious of the terror outfits. Many, formations where students are taught subjects as noted above have been like Qur’an memorization (Hif’z), Quranic part of training Taliban and other Afghan based Interpretation () Hadith (traditions and terror organizations. sayings of Prophet Muhammad), and Islamic The culture in Pakistan jurisprudence (), among other subjects. is mostly conservative, so many parents and In most of the madrassas across the globe, families, irrespective of their financial status will the primary section curriculum has four to send their wards to subjects namely: Qur’an which is broken madrassas” down into hif’z (memorization), Tafsir (interpretation) and tajweed and tilaawah (reading and pronunciation). Other subjects are Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), Tar-biyah (Islamic discipline), which is further broken down into Tawheed (study of the unity of God), Hadith (sayings and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad

56 Islamic teachings and madrassas of Pakistan

(PBUH)), Seerah (Prophet Muhammad’s biography) and Tarehe (Islamic history). The fourth subject is Lugha (Arabic language) which is also further broken down into nahw (grammar) and qeraat (reading, writing and comprehension).At the completion of this stage, one can become a village Imam (and can lead prayers), but cannot be consulted or pass judgment on matters concerning Islamic law (shariah).

An in-depth study of the same subjects is undertaken at Idaad and Thanawi levels. A Thanawi certificate holder can be elected as a district kadhi, an office for which Ssempa could very well be a candidate should he stay his course for the next six years.4

What are the difficulties faced by students in madrassas?

1. Madrassas are centres for learning religious knowledge and impart the teachings of Quran. But simultaneously these madrassas in the past ages were also responsible for teaching subjects like Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. But with the later changing trends and these madrassas turning into jihadi factories, have stopped teaching any other subject than Islamic teachings. This methodology does not come at regulated prices. Rather the children have to suffer attending madrassas. This leads to low self-esteem of the child in comparison with the child learning at a private school.

2. Many of the madrassas which were setup ages ago are on the land which has come from donations. The buildings of madrassas are now shattered. They are in a rotten state. They need proper infrastructure like benches, tables etc. and this should be implemented via committee which should be formed in order to regulate the proper functioning of the madrassas.

4. http://observer.ug/component/content/article?id=24973:what-do-madrasas-teach

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3. Apart from infrastructure, what actually a school or learning centre requires is a sound faculty. The more trained and educated the faculty would be, the more easily students can correlate to what they will try to teach. This will make classes interactive. But unfortunately it is just the old Imams and Qadris teaching at madrassas. They are just making students read and memorise Quran by reciting aloud and top of one’s voice and making body move back and forth.

Conclusion:

The main theme of this chapter was to bring into focus, what actually happens behind the walls of madrassas. This maybe a generic picture which is provided in this chapter but the real would be even worse. The government’s actions seem to be of a reluctant observer, who does not want a change and rather resists it.

The rigid and inflexible curriculum is an example of an atypical mind setup which is inclined for not to change and rather become more and more conservative. The politics of minority is quite at the verge of collapsing in the society. And in this case a minority community alike Muslims would definitely feel outrageous and will provide a counter to itself.

The madrassas of Pakistan are thus one such institution where the growth of this radical and extremism has taken place. The teaching in madrassas were not made limited to just Quran or holy scriptures rather it was seen that they act as terror training centres. The Pakistani government though has banned many of the unregistered ones but still the trouble continues. Terror is still being made to put in the minds of young children and jihad has been made their last option.

58 Chapter 7 What are the reasons for post 1980 Radicalisation of madrassas in Pakistan? International Forum for Rights and Security

Madrassas in the early decades of newly independent Pakistan were merely religious schools. They were working on the basis of spreading Islam and preaching humanity. But slowly with the pace of advancement in the minds of minority, the madrassas even altered their vision. One of such change in madrassas vision was seen in post 1980. The radicalisation of madrassas teaching began after 1980. The major reason for this was the Afghan-Soviet war.

The war between the Afghan troops and Communist regime Soviet Union was a deadly and catastrophic one. Both sides suffered huge losses of human life and property. On one side were Afghan troops supported by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and on the other front were Soviet troops with communist ideology wandering in their minds.

How did Afghan war led to the building up of Taliban?

Taliban is one of the most destructive terror organization which works on the ideology of Jihad. They are fully funded by Muslim elite nations and receive regular support from Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI.. Its militants were the main personal to fight in the war and make Soviet troops step back.

The Creation of Taliban goes back to 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. In 1973, The Soviet Union brought their soldiers into Afghanistan claiming to rebuild the crushing economy.

However, the Soviet invasion was resented by the Mujahidin (from whom the Taliban evolved from). At the same time, the Soviet Union and United States were engaged in a Cold War. Soviet Union’s entrance in Afghanistan signalled the Soviet’s increase in power and strength gaining more power and strength

60 What are the reasons for post 1980 Radicalisation of madrassas in Pakistan? than United States.

The Mujahedeen were armed and supported by several countries including, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Under Reagan’s presidency, Congress which was led by Democrats, decided to form a partnership with the ISI which would recruit the Mujahidin with the support of the Pakistani military extreme views of Islam, led the Mujahedeen to fight ferociously against the Soviet Union. These extremist succeeded in driving Soviet militants out in 1989. This unforeseen defeat caused the Soviets to lose billions of Dollars, and was one of the factors which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union after the war.

Pakistan was left alone to deal with the problems associated with the post conflict. Taliban was a creation of the Pakistani intelligence agency (the ISI) but was funded by the western powers.

Since the Taliban was a creation of the Pakistani intelligence agency. Pakistan has been reluctant to fight them. It is said that a lot of Pakistani and other military personal were known to be siding with the Taliban. Therefore Saudi Arabia, western powers and Pakistan are accountable for the Creation of Islamic extremist Group called `Taliban’.1

How are Pakistani Madrassas linked to Taliban?

Madrassas in Pakistan are breeding grounds for terror recruitment. There are thousands of madrassas which are registered with government of Pakistan. But in many cases there exists thousands which are not registered with the government and operate independently.

Thirty thousand madrassas operate across Pakistan, most of them legal and

61 International Forum for Rights and Security adhering strictly to religious teaching. But thousands of them are not registered with the government and are teaching grounds and recruiting points for militants and Taliban, according to Pakistan and Afghan intelligence officials. Much of the militant activity is centred in Baluchistan, where 5,500 madrassas operate as boarding schools. Many of them are kept from government scrutiny and are breeding points for terror. “There are many seminaries where Afghan Taliban are studying, and many are owned by the Afghan Taliban group,” according to Baluchistan’s minister for home and tribal affairs, Sarfaraz Bugti.2

These Pakistan based madrassas have offered help to the Taliban in recruiting terrorists from across the globe. Many of the madrassas which are not registered or are independently operated, works on the principle of spreading radical ideology of Islam.

They manipulate the teachings of Islam and feed them to young students or even adults at time and thereby give them training in how to use arms and ammunitions. The spread of terror does not end here. The trained students are then asked to join Taliban and serve the community by fighting against US troops in present in Afghanistan.

All the leaders and cadres of the Sunni extremist Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ) and the Shia extremist Siph Mohammad, almost all the leaders of the Taliban and over 90 per cent of its cadres and over 70 per cent of the leaders and cadres of the Harkat-ul- (HUM), the Harkat- ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), the Jaysh-e-Mohammad (JEM), and the Lashkar-e- Toiba (LET) are products of the madrasas. However, less than 15 per cent of the members of the Al Qaeda are madrasa products. No leader of the Al Qaeda is known to have been a madrasa product.3

1. https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~amjad20s/classweb2/page2.html 2. https://www.voanews.com/a/officials-pakistani-religious-schools-increasingly-linked-afghan- taliban/3739937.html 3. http://www.icrd.org/storage/icrd/documents/pakistani_madrasas.pdf

62 What are the reasons for post 1980 Radicalisation of madrassas in Pakistan?

Case for Unregistered Madrassas:

Experts say the abundance of unregistered madrassas across the country has led to an increase in militancy in the Afghan-Pakistan region. The schools nurture militants’ ideology and provide foot soldiers for the Taliban, who have been engaged in a bloody insurgency with the U.S.-backed Afghan government for more than a decade.

“You can see madrassas in every street, and they are spreading extremism to every house, community and village of Pakistan,” Khadim Hussain, a Pakistani security analyst remarks.

According to Baluchistan provincial government estimates, more than 5,000 Afghans are studying at madrassas in the province. The Taliban’s supreme leader, Mullah Haibatullah, reportedly operated a madrassa in Kuchlak, near the provincial capital, Quetta.

The Afghan Taliban’s influence over the unregulated madrassa network is most visible in the Pashto-speaking belt of Baluchistan, where Afghan militants can easily travel between Afghanistan and Pakistan, officials say.

“There are 191 madrassas in my district, 21 of them unregistered, and some 20 per cent of the enrolled students are Afghans,” says Qaisar Khan Nasir, a provincial official in Qilla Abdullah district, which has a Pashtun majority population and borders Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.

Washington and Kabul accuse Pakistan of harbouring armed opponents of the Afghan government, including the Taliban’s Quetta Council, which is composed of Taliban leadership and the Haqqani Network — a U.S.-designated terror

63 International Forum for Rights and Security organization.

Extremist groups who support militancy in Afghanistan and are U.S.-designated terrorist groups run countrywide networks of madrassas, according to American intelligence reports. Though banned in Pakistan, the groups operate under different names while supporting the Afghan Taliban.4

What has been the role of the madrasas in the spread of jihadi terrorism to other countries?

The madrasa products of the HUM, the HUJI, the JEM and the LET play an active role in jihadi terrorism directed against India. All of them are Pakistani and not Indian “The Afghan Taliban’s nationals. A large number of foreign Muslims influence over the come to the madrasas to be qualified as unregulated madrassa religious clerics. The largest number of network is most visible foreign students in the Pakistani madrassas is in the Pashto-speaking Afghans from inside. belt of Baluchistan, where Afghan militants The second largest numbers are from South- can easily travel East Asia, mainly from Malaysia, Thailand, between Afghanistan Myanmar and Indonesia. The third largest and Pakistan” numbers are from the Central Asian Republics (CARs), mainly from Uzbekistan, and the Chechen province of Russia and the Xinjiang region of China. The fourth largest numbers are from the Muslim communities in West Europe and North America. Of these, Pakistanis and persons of Pakistani origin constitute the maximum. The fifth largest group is from countries such

4. https://www.voanews.com/a/officials-pakistani-religious-schools-increasingly-linked-afghan- taliban/3739937.html

64 What are the reasons for post 1980 Radicalisation of madrassas in Pakistan? as Yemen, Somalia, Bangladesh, Tanzania, and Australia. Presently, next to the Afghans, the Thais constitute the second largest number of persons enrolled in the madrasas, mainly of . Uzbeks constitute the third largest number, in terms of individual nationalities. Not all madrasa students go back to their respective countries as motivated jihadi terrorists. But all go back as Western- haters. Many of these Western-haters ultimately function as clerics in the mosques of their countries and use their position to preach hatred against the West, against the US in particular.

Often, jihadi terrorists are made not in the madrasas, but in the mosques headed by clerics who had studied in the madrasas of Pakistan.

Saudi religious organisations use the madrasas of Pakistan for spreading Wahhabism to the Muslims of other countries and for the Arabization of the Muslims of South-East Asia, who are viewed as soft because of the influence of the Indian culture and the Hindu religion on them.

In its election manifesto for the October, 2002, elections to the Pakistan National Assembly, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), the six-party fundamentalist coalition, had stated that if it came to power it would assist the jihad being waged by the people of the Southern Philippines, the Arakan area of Myanmar, the Jammu & Kashmir area of India, Palestine and the Chechen area of Russia. They have since included Southern Thailand also in the list of countries where Muslims are waging a jihad and whom they would assist.

It is believed that the command and control of the jihad in Southern Thailand is now located in Karachi. In an editorial published on August 4, 2005, the “Daily Times”, the prestigious newspaper of Lahore, wrote: “To our shame, nearly 1,200 religious schools under one organisation in Karachi alone are “teaching”

5. http://www.icrd.org/storage/icrd/documents/pakistani_madrasas.pdf

65 International Forum for Rights and Security all sorts of refugees from Southeast Asia, including those from Thailand, many of whom have been returning home to raise the flag of a futile Islamic revolt.”5

Conclusion:

The radicalisation of madrassas which has led to spread of terror and terrorists to terror groups has been a matter of crucial interrogation. The Taliban gets it complete support from Pakistan based madrassas. These madrassas are unregistered ones and operate on spreading radicalism to the world and its students.

The ideological setup of these madrassas is based upon the premise that the Muslim community is suffering due the United States and other powers in the world and the Muslim youth, men and women must take up action against these powers. This could only possible, according to the Muslim clerics who teach at madrassas and even pass fatwas, by uniting against these nations and communities and killing them at best.

The purpose of creating a terror group such as Taliban was same. It operated in Afghanistan against the Soviet troops in the war in 1980s. They repulsed the entire Soviet batch which was deployed in Afghanistan and with the support of Pakistan and its intelligence agency, ISI, they were supplied arms and ammunition which helped indeed for eradicating the Soviet troops.

Even the madrassas sponsored the funds which they had received from Saudi Arab. The government of Pakistan should conduct a survey in order to find the unregistered madrassas and shut them down. In Pakistan every second street has a madrassa; it is indeed a situation that Pakistani government can be named behind the success of Taliban like groups in succeeding in spreading terror likewise 9/11 or Kashmir insurgency.

66 Chapter 8 How can we alter the education system of Pakistan? International Forum for Rights and Security

Education system in Pakistan is in a dismal state. There is lack of infrastructure and trained faculty in the government run schools. Mostly an agricultural based economy, people in Pakistan live largely in rural areas. However, there is an absence of formal education structure in such areas. The government of Pakistan should build more and more schools and provide with basic amenities in schools, so that the rural population of children gets attracted towards studies.

The religious schools or the madrassas operating in Pakistan are also one of the reasons why the literacy rate is so down. These madrassas are supposedly for teaching religious tenets to the young minds. But unfortunately these schools are implementing radical philosophies of Islam and train students for terror group recruitments.

Article 25-A of the constitution of Pakistan provides with education asa fundamental right. It states that, “it states that education is a fundamental right of every citizen of the nation and education to children from the age group 5 to 16 will provided free of cost.”

The education policy is inclined towards guaranteeing education to strata of children. But do we even find implementation? The answer is no. There are no such efforts made by government to ensure that the education set-up is well implemented. The rotten state of education system of Pakistan is also reflective of why the country has not gained anything in the economic terms. It is a developing nation and it must adhere to provide education in a productive manner so that it can have a class of intellectuals who could help in making country’s status better.

68 How can we alter the education system of Pakistan?

It has also been noted in the context of Pakistani government’s budget allocation that due to country’s expenditure on defence, infrastructure and building a strong army, it has reduced the fund allocation to the education ministry. This leaves us with the opinion that government of Pakistan is playing a double-game with its “The religious schools citizens. On one hand it provides education as or the madrassas a fundamental right, and on the other hand operating in Pakistan it is being of no “matter type” in allocating are also one of the funds. reasons why the literacy rate is so down. Education at primary and secondary level: These madrassas are Pakistan’s education system faces many supposedly for teaching well-known problems. At the primary and religious tenets to the secondary level, both access and student young minds” achievement are low—by international standards as well as the standard of meeting Pakistan’s broad development challenges; and future outlook is pessimistic— with Pakistan likely to fall well short of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of achieving universal primary education Teacher preparation and teacher attendance at schools are inadequate. Stubborn inequalities in access, quality, and educational outcomes persist across gender, across income, between urban and rural schools, and among the country’s four provinces. These inequalities create some startling disparities: for instance, Punjabi urban males completed primary school in the early 2000s at a rate of 65%; but only about 10% of rural Balochi or rural Pathan females did so. New data on these disparities provide some encouragement but there is still a long distance to go in eliminating them.1

1. http://ftp.iza.org/pp76.pdf

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Education at Higher level:

The higher education system fares no better, in spite of strides made in the past decade. Rates of enrolment are low. The problems in this system are legion: low quality of faculty, low student motivation, rote learning, out-dated curriculum, poor student discipline in public universities, lack of funding, lack of research, and so forth. As a result, a large majority of Pakistani graduates emerge from universities without the technical or social skills needed for them to be strong contributors in the workplace or society, either in Pakistan or on the global stage.2

Vocational education and how it works?

Vocational education in Pakistan is even more marginalized. Less than 1% of the population has ever received technical education or vocational training. For those who have, quality has been uneven. More than 75% of the graduates have some foundational skills but no marketable skills for employment. Poor administration, lack of interaction with industry, and the out-dated infrastructure of public institutions have been blamed. Such issues, along with those that bedevil the other levels of education, explain why Skilled Workforce Indicators such as ‘poor work ethic’ and inadequate education rank as two of the top 10 most problematic factors for doing business in Pakistan, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2012 Global Competitiveness Report.3

What are the ways by which education system of Pakistan could change?

1. Start with establishing adequate standards in the schools. The schools in Pakistan are it from secondary, primary or vocational level are in a condition

2. http://ftp.iza.org/pp76.pdf

3. http://ftp.iza.org/pp76.pdf

70 How can we alter the education system of Pakistan? which has caused a massive disrupt in society. The rural population is at stake as the teachers in the rural areas are busy making mockery of the system of education. There should be regular checks at the provincial levels which could make effective work output from teachers. The untrained teachers present should be given professional training and make them eligible enough to teach accurately.

2. There is increasing number of dropouts from school at secondary level. The female child dropout rate is higher in villages and rural areas. There should be proper and effective mechanisms to deal with the dropout rate. Children should be offered incentives such as free meals etc. in order to attract them towards school. Government should even prepare statistic data to check how and why the children are drooping out from schools.

3. One of the most prominent issues persisting on Pakistani land is of religious schools. The madrassas or religious schools are the centres where children of different age groups go to study religious teachings. The conservative society of Pakistan prefers to send their children to these madrassas in order to inculcate in them religious teachings. But unfortunately there are some of the unregistered madrassas operating which teach radical Islam teachings, in order to make young minds vulnerable and make them join terror groups.

The government of Pakistan must deal on a stricter level with such madrassas and encourage families and even make them aware that teaching not only means religious notions, rather it includes various other subjects like social science, mathematics and natural sciences.

4. Provide transport for children and teachers: Lack of safe transportation is

71 International Forum for Rights and Security a major factor in teacher absenteeism and fatigue. It also affects children’s attendance. School van transport is a valuable perk for our teachers.

5. For girls, parents are the biggest impediment to their education. More than half of girls who are out of school lack either parental consent or ability to pay schools fees.

We need to advocate more for parents to get involved with community schools – whether they are on the management committee, or helping with the building, financing or security at their child’s school.4

Female Education in Pakistan:

One of the main proponents of declining female education rate is the unawareness about the benefits of education. This is more common in rural areas especially areas like Baluchistan etc. The people are so conservative and rigid in their thought process that they believe only in male child education and for females they have kept household chores.

Cases of female literacy downfall are more in tribal areas. Here female or women are treated as an object of controversy and made restricted behind the walls. Women are not only declined education but are also exploited emotionally and physically. That is the reason that women literacy rate in Pakistan is just 7.2% of the entire female population.5

Madrassas effects on education industry:

Traditionally, madrassas (seminaries) have been a source of all types of knowledge for Muslims where education, even in the science subjects, was provided. With

4. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/apr/02/14-routes-to- better-education-in-pakistan

5. http://educationist.com.pk/women-education-in-pakistan/.

72 How can we alter the education system of Pakistan? the passage of time, the role of the traditional madrassas has been restricted just to impart religious education. In Pakistan, such religious schools have not been controlled and administered properly, which is the reason why extremist elements are being produced in these religious seminaries.

Pakistan is a country facing acute security problems. To tackle this issue, one sector is the quality of education in religious schools.

The main purpose of education is to enlighten the people, so that they can have a proper understanding about the various issues prevailing in the country, and to educate the people in such a way so that they can distinguish between the good and bad but, unfortunately, this is not the case in Pakistan as the US Commission on International Religious Freedom has researched Pakistani school textbooks to discover that there is religious biasness in almost every madrassa, which leads to societal intolerance and maligns the minority groups.

Most of the madrassas provide free education, boarding and lodging services to the children, and that is one of the reasons that they are hijacked by religious extremist zealots who hypnotise the minds of the children, hence providing perfect recruits to the extremist organisations.

The curriculum, which is taught in these madrassas, needs particular importance, as it reflects Islam as a religion of war and hate. Not only in the madrassas but also in the regular schools of the country the, jihad-bis-saif, (jihad with the sword) is highlighted with particular emphasis on Islamic wars, thus neglecting the fact that Islam is a religion of peace as the word Islam itself means peace, purity and submission, and the wars fought in Islamic history had a proper context and reason.6

6. https://dailytimes.com.pk/106116/madrassa-education-a-threat-to-peace-and-tolerance/

73 International Forum for Rights and Security

Conclusion:

The condition of Pakistani education system needs a thorough and qualitative check which can help in producing effective results. The literacy rate ofa country like Pakistan which indeed is an underdeveloped and growing nation cannot afford to have it at below the par. There is availability of resources but unfortunately these resources are used in defence and corruption.

The low budget and lack of policy implementation have caused a menace of problem for the citizens as well as for the government. The government of Pakistan must make an effort in raising the standards of the education industry.

Education is a tool which can help Pakistan by increasing its literacy rate and providing with a class of intellectuals who will serve for the nation’s growth and increase the levels of GDP.

As we know that majority of population in Pakistan lives below the poverty line and this even indicates there hatred towards government and more pious and affection for the religious schools.

The unaware crowd has proven to send their children to madrassas and not to government aided schools. They believe that children need to be educated only in Islamic teaching. Another factor for this is that government schools are not structured properly and madrassas on the other hand provide free education, lodging and food. This attracts the children even more.

Government should work on implementing education policies and provide students with adequate facilities so that they can learn and serve the society.

74 Chapter 9 What role could be played by madrassas in shaping the education system of Pakistan? International Forum for Rights and Security

Madrassa education system is one of the oldest education systems prevalent in Muslim “The education system in Pakistan is in shackles. dominated countries. They were established It’s been into its rotten with the motive of spreading Islamic teachings state. The education to the students of the Muslim community. policy is there but it is not They have increased in number and even well implemented. The case for policy paralysis their teachings have been modified. is so strong that majority of the community The purpose of establishing them was to population is inclined teach students how to read Quran and offer towards sending their prayers. This Islamic fundamentalism was wards to madrassas” the core of the teachings. Other subjects like social studies, science and mathematics were started later on. In Pakistan, this system started from the time of the independence of the nation.

The education system in Pakistan is in shackles. It’s been into its rotten state. The education policy is there but it is not well implemented. The case for policy paralysis is so strong that majority of the community population is inclined towards sending their wards to madrassas. But on the contrary madrassas are no more a religious teaching institute. It has been seen that the madrassas operating in Pakistan are inculcating radical Islamic teachings in the minds of young crowd in order to recruit them in terror groups like Taliban.

Pakistan’s poor education system has increasingly become a matter of international concern. Lack of access to quality education, which in turn limits economic opportunity, makes young Pakistanis targets for extremist groups, some experts say. The World Bank says nearly half the adult population of

76 What role could be played by madrassas in shaping the education system of Pakistan?

Pakistan can’t read, and net primary enrolment rates remain the lowest in South Asia. Experts say the system suffers from inadequate government investment, corruption, lack of institutional capacity, and a poor curriculum that often incites intolerance. In August 2009, chief counterterrorism adviser to the White House John Brennan, summing up a concern held by many U.S. terrorism experts, said extremist groups in Pakistan have exploited this weakness. “It is why they offer free education to impoverished Pakistani children, where they can recruit the next generation,” he said. There have been some efforts by the Pakistani government, Western governments, and the World Bank to reform the system, but serious challenges remain.1

According to the Pakistani government’s National Education Policy 2009 (PDF), three parallel streams in education--public schools, private schools, and Islamic religious schools, or madrassas--have “created unequal opportunities for students.” Of the total number of students going to primary school (grades 1 to 5), 73 percent go to public or government schools, 26 percent to private schools, and less than 1 percent to madrassas, according to the Karachi-based policy research institute Social Policy and Development Center.2

Within the public and the private sector, there are elite schools catering to a small minority of students. The majority of students attend low-quality private and public schools with poor curriculum, limited teaching materials, and inadequate number of properly trained teachers, or in many cases absent teachers.

The government-mandated curriculum is a major concern for Western observers who say it encourages intolerance and a narrow worldview.

Except in some elite private schools, which do not follow the government-

1. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/pakistans-education-system-and-links-extremism.

2. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b420/df450ecfa9fd92f73302bd26a485af080af5.pdf.

77 International Forum for Rights and Security prescribed curriculum, all public schools and registered private schools have been required to teach Islamiyat, or , for nearly thirty years. In addition to Islamiyat, “many scholars have noted that the government curriculum uses Islam for a wide array of controversial ideological objectives,” writes C. Christine Fair in the 2008 book The Madrassa Challenge.’

A 2003 report on the state of curriculum and textbooks by the Islamabad-based independent Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) said that for over two decades, the curricula and official textbooks in subjects such as English, social studies, civics, and Urdu “have contained material that is directly contrary to the goals and values of a progressive, moderate and democratic Pakistan.”

It says the curriculum and textbooks include hate material and “encourage prejudice, bigotry and discrimination” toward women, religious minorities, and other nations, especially India.

In 2004, Pervez Hodbhoy professor and chairman of Islamabad-based Quaid- i-Azam University wrote in Foreign Affairs: “Pakistani schools--and not just madrassas--are churning out fiery zealots, fuelled with a passion for jihad and martyrdom.” CFR Senior Fellow Daniel Markey also notes the concern over textbooks. “Rather than actually serving to moderate public views, the education system is exacerbating the problem of extremism,” he says.

The government, in its new national policy, concedes that access at all levels to educational opportunities remains low. Few people educated in public schools are able to move up the ladder of social mobility, it notes. There also remains a gender gap in schools; the net enrolment ratio for girls at primary level is 59 per cent as compared to 72 per cent for boys. At secondary level, girls enrol at

78 What role could be played by madrassas in shaping the education system of Pakistan?

21 per cent as compared to 27 per cent for “There also remains a boys.3 gender gap in schools; the net enrolment ratio The problem with madrassa education for girls at primary level is system: 59 per cent as compared The madrassa education is supposedly to to 72 per cent for boys. be of religious nature. But the trend seen At secondary level, girls in Pakistani madrassas have been little out enrol at 21 per cent as of the context. The religious schools are compared to 27 per cent teaching students to get them prepared for for boys” the terror group recruitments. There has to be a change in the system. The Pakistani government blames the madrassas for their teaching methods. The government seems to be comfortable and does nothing though to check this. It has in early period tried to chuckle out the unregistered madrassas but still there are many madrassas which are unregistered and work under their own leadership.

Another face of problem which is seen in madrassa teaching curriculum is that, only religious teachings would not make a child educated. This implies why the literacy rate of Pakistan is low. Many of the students who attend madrassas are only qualified for the religious notions and not with other subjects like social science or mathematics. The government schools though provide with these subjects but the intake and infrastructure is so poor that many relent from going to schools.

Moreover the feature of madrassa teaching only male or young boys and avoid

3. http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/efa/EFA_MDA/National_EFA_MDA_Reports/EFA- MDA_Pakistan_FINAL_29May08.pdf.

79 International Forum for Rights and Security female candidature is also a big reluctant point. The students, majorly rural or tribal, “Only religious join madrassas because of amenities it teachings would not provide and in this case only male candidates make a child educated are allowed to study in madrassas. The many of the students awareness in case of female education is very who attend madrassas low and poor. The community in Pakistan are only qualified for the believes that females are supposedly to be religious notions and restricted from studying. More pressure not with other subjects on this point is laid down by the terror like social science or organizations operating in Pakistan, as they mathematics” restrict girls from going to schools.

What could be the major reforms in the Madrassa education system?

The madrassa education system needs a check. In Pakistan, it has been a prevalent form of education system. It has been observed that there should be registered only madrassas working in the nation. The unregistered madrassas should be banned from operating within Pakistani territory.

Since the early days of Pakistan’s formation in 1948, there was an insistence that Islam was to inform the education system. Assuming power in a coup in 1977, military ruler Muhammad Zia ul-Haq made Islamic studies compulsory at all levels of education through college, and declared madrassa certificates equivalent to normal university degrees. Several successive governments made efforts to tackle curriculum reform through new education policies.

The National Education Policy 2009 says Pakistan’s weak education sector results

80 What role could be played by madrassas in shaping the education system of Pakistan? from a lack of commitment to education and poor implementation of policies. It recognizes pervasive corruption in the system and notes that the government’s current spending on education, 2.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), is far from adequate. The NEP proposes the following policy actions:

• Increase spending on education to 7 per cent of GDP;

• Increase public-private partnerships;

• Introduce subjects taught in regular schools in madrassas;

• Increase teacher training, enact curriculum reform, and improve teaching aid materials;

• Introduce food-based incentives to increase enrollment and improve retention, especially for girls.4

However, some experts remain sceptical of real reform taking place. Markey says the plans on paper may not be translated into action. New textbooks written as a result of curriculum reform in 2002 have not yet been printed. Since then, there have been two more education policies (in 2006 and 2009). There are also doubts about the government’s ability to spend the allocated money on education.5

Reforms should be the centre point of policy implementation of the government of Pakistan. The attacks of 9/11 in the United States have brought the eye of the world on madrassas operating in Pakistan. It has been believed by many that the terrorists and their activities are controlled from madrassas based in Pakistan. This tradition and thought is proof of madrassas inculcating radical

4. http://unesco.org.pk/education/teachereducation/files/National%20Education%20Policy.pdf.

5. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/pakistans-education-system-and-links-extremism

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Islamic education within the minds of young children.

Yet only five hundred madrassas have reportedly accepted curriculum reform since 2002.

Some experts advise against madrassa reform. Markey says “madrassas have never been intended to be more than seminaries and to violate that tradition in the name of an education program seems to be misplaced.”

He promotes the elimination of madrassas used for training and recruiting militants, but says that the solution is really in creating alternatives to madrassas through public or private schools that deliver better quality education.

However, others disagree. Saleem H. Ali, “Madrassas have visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Centre, never been intended argues for curriculum reform at madrassas to be more than as well as international support for such seminaries and to programs. For instance, he says indirect U.S. violate that tradition support “could be offered through capacity- in the name of an building programs for teachers across all education program sectors, including madrassas.” seems to be The Washington-based International Centre misplaced” for Religion and Diplomacy, which has been working with some Pakistani madrassas since 2004 training their leaders and faculty in religious tolerance and human rights, says reform of these madrassas is possible. Douglas M. Johnston, the organization’s president, urges USAID and

82 What role could be played by madrassas in shaping the education system of Pakistan? international donor support for madrassa reform, says: “To prevent Pakistan’s slide toward a failed nuclear state, broad educational enhancement of the madrassas will be essential.”6

Conclusion

Madrassas constitute an integral part of the Islamic culture. They provide with roots of Islamic knowledge and also teach how to pray to Allah. The tradition started in Pakistan is somewhat new. The madrassas there are teaching terrorism and recruiting new adults for terror group participation. Moreover the education system, the madrassas contribute towards is also more of a traditional and backward. It does not focus on teaching subjects other than Islam.

This creates a distance between the world and student studying in madrassa. It will just limit the student’s ability to judge and take decision as he/she will be unaware of worldly affairs.

Secondly, the education of public schools is also not up to the mark. There is policy paralysis persisting in education sector. The government does not hold itself responsible for downfall of the literacy or fall in the GDP of the nation. There seems to be a no-coordination between madrassas and government.

Where on one side, due to international pressure, government of Pakistan persists on shutting down the madrassa, on the other hand supports the madrassa education system by providing funds. The dual policy of Pakistani government is leading nowhere.

Instead it is creating a backlog for the students who intend to learn. It will result only in student’s loss and he or she will not be ready for the decision making in

6. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/pakistans-education-system-and-links-extremism

83 International Forum for Rights and Security future. And if such a student leaves behind public schools and joins madrassas, he will soon be a part of terror group.

There have been some measures by recent Pakistani governments to reform madrassas, but they have had little success so far, experts say. In 2001, former President promulgated the Pakistan Madrassa Education Board Ordinance to establish three model madrassas that would include regular school subjects such as English, math, and computer science in their curricula. In 2002, he followed up with a Voluntary Registration and Regulation Ordinance that promised funding to madrassas that formally registered with the government.

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