Author: PTI
Publication: Mid-Day
Date: March 11, 2004
URL: http://www.mid-day.com/news/world/2004/march/78408.htm
Washington: Pulling no punches,
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has denounced madrassas or schools imparting
religious education in Pakistan and several other countries as breeding
grounds for "fundamentalists and terrorists."
He said the US had held several
discussions on the issue with the countries concerned and was in the process
of introducing education programmes which would shift the focus of these
madrassas to providing useful education.
"... we have talked to those countries
that were the principal sources of funding for the madrassas--such as Saudi
Arabia and others--and their support for these madrassa programmes that
do nothing but prepare youngsters to be fundamentalists and to be terrorists,
and are not preparing them with an education that would be useful," Powell
said.
He was responding to Congresswoman
Marcy Kaptur statement in the House Appropriations Subcommittee that unless
education of the future is imparted in these madrassas, to which young
people are drawn because of food aid, they would result in multiple clonings
of militants throughout the region.
The US is working with Pakistan
President Pervez Musharraf and other countries on the issue and trying
to put in place programmes to shift the focus of these madrassas to providing
an education that is useful, Powell said.
"But we also have to understand
that a lot of these reflect the view of the community, the desire of the
community to have such places. We can't substitute for all of the feeding
programmes of all of these madrassas throughout the Muslim world. Nor would
we know how to do it if we had the resources to do," Powell said.
