Author: Zahid Hussain in Islamabad
Publication: The Times
Date: July 15, 2005
URL: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22989-1694964,00.html
Introduction: The loss of innocent
lives is regrettable, but the British should think why it all happened.
Sporting black turbans or skull
caps, the young men squat on a carpet in a crowded classroom and listen
in silence to a lecture given by a thickly bearded, middle-aged cleric.
The students are at the final stage
of their religious education at Darul Uloom Haqqania, one of Pakistan's
leading institutions of Islamic learning. Situated in the town of Akora
Khatak, near Peshawar, the radical seminary is often described as the "University
of Jihad".
At least two of the London suicide
bombers attended such a school.
The seminary, which was established
in 1947, has been the cradle of the Taleban militia that ruled Afghanistan
for more than five years before being ousted by the American-led coalition
forces in 2001. Many of the Taleban leaders had graduated from the school.
The seminary has also been a recruiting
centre for militant Pakistani groups fighting Indian forces in the disputed
region of Kashmir. Many of its 2,500 students come from Afghanistan. But
the number of foreign students has fallen after government pressure.
"The bomb attacks in London are
the reaction against the British Government's support for America's war
against Muslims," said Maulana Samiul Haq, a fiery, black-turbaned cleric
who is head of the seminary. He is also an MP in Pakistan. "The loss of
innocent lives is regrettable, but the British Government should think
why it all happened. It is time to review its policy on Iraq and Afghanistan."
The school teaches the concept of
jihad to prepare students to fight for the cause of Islam. "Jihad is an
essential part of Islam," said Mr Haq.
The proliferation of jihadi organisations
in Pakistan over the past two decades has been the result of the militant
culture espoused by radical madrassas, the hardline religious schools,
like Darul Uloom Haqqania. They pose a threat to Pakistan's internal security
as well as abroad. Madrassas were once considered centres for basic religious
learning, mostly attached to local mosques. The more formal ones were used
for training clergy. The evolution of simple religious schools into training
centres for Kalashnikov-toting religious warriors is directly linked with
the rise of militant Islam.
Most of the pupils come from the
poorest section of society and receive free religious education, lodgings
and meals. Most of the madrassas have been isolated from the outside world
for centuries. Students are brainwashed and the textbooks provide a one-dimensional
world view that restricts their thought process.
Conditions in the schools are regularly
condemned by human rights groups as crowded and inhuman. The day begins
at dawn with morning prayer. A simple breakfast of bread and tea is served,
followed by lessons, which continue until evening.
The students are subjected to a
regime as harsh as any jail and physical abuse is commonplace. In many
schools students are put in chains and heavy iron fetters for the slightest
violation of rules. There are almost no extracurricular activities. Television
and radio are banned. Teaching is very rudimentary and students are taught
religion from a highly traditional perspective.
At the primary stage, pupils learn
how to read, memorise and recite the Koran. Though the focus is on religious
learning, some institutions also teach elementary mathematics, science
and English.
The most dangerous consequence of
the schools is that students emerge ill-prepared for any work except guiding
the faithful in rituals that do not require great expertise. Job opportunities
for graduates are few and far between. They can only work in mosques, madrassas
or religious parties and their business affiliates.
The education imparted by traditional
madrassas spawns factional, religious and cultural conflicts. It creates
barriers to modern knowledge and breeds bigotry, laying the foundation
on which fundamentalism is based. Divided along sectarian lines, these
institutions are driven by the zeal to outnumber and dominate rival sects.
The rise of a jihad culture since
the 1980s has given them a new sense of purpose. The number of madrassas
multiplied and clergy emerged as a powerful political and social force.
At independence in 1947 there were only 137 madrassas in Pakistan. Government
sources put today's figure at 13,000 with total enrolment close to 1.7
million.
