Madrasas.info - About Islamic Religious Schools, madrassas, madrasas, madrassahs

Role of Persian Gulf States. In recent years, worldwide attention has been focused on the dissemination of donations to Islamic charities and the export of conservative religious educational curricula by governments and citizens in the Persian Gulf. Concern has been expressed over the spread of radical Islam through schools, universities, and mosques that have received donations and curricular material from Persian Gulf governments, organizations, and citizens. These institutions exist around the world, including South, Central, and Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, western Europe, and the United States. Some view the teaching of religious curricula informed by Islamic traditions common in the Gulf as particularly threatening the existence of more moderate beliefs and practices in other parts of the Muslim world. However, there are those who argue that a differentiation should be made between funding to support charitable projects, such as madrasa-building, and funding which has been channeled, overtly or implicitly, to support extremist teachings in these madrasas. Critics of Gulf states’ policies have alleged that Persian Gulf governments long permitted or encouraged fund raising by charitable Islamic groups and foundations linked to Al Qaeda. Several Gulf states have taken steps to strengthen controls on the activities of charities engaged in overseas activities, including madrasa building and administration. Several Islamic charitable organizations based in Gulf states continue to provide assistance to educational projects across the Muslim world, and channels of responsibility between donors and recipients for curricular development and educational control are often unresolved or unclear.

Pakistan. Hosting over 10,000 madrasas, Pakistan’s religious and public educational infrastructure are of ongoing concern in the United States. In an economy that is marked by extreme poverty and underdevelopment, costs associated with Pakistan’s cash-strapped public education system have led many Pakistanis to turn to madrasas for free education, room, and board. Links between Pakistani madrasas and the ousted Afghan Taliban regime, as well as alleged connections between some madrasas and Al Qaeda, have led some observers consider the reform of Pakistan’s madrasa system as an important component of combating anti-U.S. terrorism and in helping to stabilize the recently-formed Afghan government. In recommending increased U.S. attention to “actual or potential terrorist sanctuaries,” the 9/11 Commission’s final report singled out “poor education” in Pakistan as “a particular concern,” citing reports that some madrasas “have been used as incubators for violent extremism.”

These reports received new and more urgent attention following reports that one of the four suicide bombers that carried out the July 2005 terrorist attacks on the London transportation system had spent time at a Pakistani madrasa with alleged links to extremists. In response, Pakistani authorities renewed plans to require all madrasas to register with the government and provide an account of their financing sources. The government had previously offered incentives to madrasas that agreed to comply with registration procedures, including better training, salaries, and supplies. Madrasa leaders reportedly agreed to the registration and financial accounting requirements in September 2005, but succeeded in preserving an anonymity provision for their donors. As of January 2006, approximately 7,000 of Pakistan’s estimated 13,000 madrasas had registered with authorities. In a more controversial step, the Pakistani government also demanded that madrasas expel all of their foreign students by December 31, 2005. Of an estimated 1,700 foreign madrasa students, 1,000 had reportedly left Pakistan by January 1, 2006. Some nationalist and Islamist groups have vehemently resisted the government’s efforts, and authorities have made public statements indicating that they do not plan to use force or shut down noncompliant madrasas in order to enforce the directives.

Other Countries of Interest. Currently, the popularity of madrasas is rising in parts of Southeast Asia. For example in Indonesia, home to the largest number of Muslims in the world, almost 20-25% of primary and secondary school children attend pesantrens (Islamic religious schools). Indonesian pesantrens have been noted for teaching a moderate form of Islam, one that encompasses Islamic mysticism or Sufism. However, the Saudi-based Al Haramain Islamic Foundation, a now defunct charity whose Indonesian branch had been designated by the U.S. government as a conduit for terrorist financing, reportedly had been operating some educational institutions in Indonesia. Authorities in Bangladesh have expressed concern about the use of madrasas by a network of Islamist activists being investigated in connection with a number of attempted and successful bombing attacks across the country in recent months. A number of madrasa students have been detained in connection with ongoing investigations.