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Abu Bakar University: Madrasa in the Eye of the Storm
EFL:The Abu Bakar University, where police say they have uncovered a sleeper cell of the Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, is typical of the madrasas Pakistan is trying to reform. Seven Indonesian and Malaysian members of what security officials say was a 19-man cell were students at Abu Bakar. The university teaches only the Qurâan, Sunnah (sayings of the Prophet), Islamic literature and Arabic, all exclusively in Arabic language. There is no science, mathematics or English language in the curriculum. Half of the 25-year-old schoolâs 500 students are from overseas, mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Attending school on JI scholarships. Since early last year, Pakistan has been trying to regulate its 10,000 madrasas, drafting a law which requires them to broaden their curricula, register, and cease foreign funding. The draft law was watered down under pressure from powerful Islamic parties last year, but even its diluted form has still not been passed. Tap, tap....nope. With many of the seminaries considered a breeding ground for extremism, Pakistanâs intelligence agencies have been watching them closely as they hunt Al-Qaeda and Taleban fugitives. Between attending grad school at the same madrasas. But this month is the first time Southeast Asian students have emerged on the spy agenciesâ watchlists. Yemenis, Egyptians and other Arab and North Africans have previously been the main targets. âThis is the first time since the war on terror started that students of these countries are on our monitoring list,â a Karachi-based intelligence official, who asked to remain anonymous, said. Hummm, been moved to the "expendable" list? Hambaliâs brother had been studying at Abu Bakar for four years under the name Abdul Hadi, according to a fellow student. The young Indonesian was âfriendly, softly spoken, and diligent,â the student said, asking not to be named. On Sept. 1 he was called by police for questioning, and never came back. An Islamabad-based security official said Gunawan was arrested in the first week of September. Last Saturday police and intelligence agents showed up again at the school and took away another Indonesian and five Malaysians. Could be he talked, between screams. Raids on at least four other madrasas on Saturday and Monday netted 12 more Malaysian and Indonesian students. The Abu Bakar University lies in eastern Karachiâs crowded Gulshan-e-Iqbal district, where madrasas have mushroomed in recent years. Staff said the campus never encouraged militancy. "Weâre a religion of peace, and Iâll kill anyone who says different." âWe donât teach extremism, only purely religious education according to Qurâanic teaching,â Maulana Mohammad Aaish Tahir, a senior cleric at the school, said. âWe only try to produce good Muslims and not terrorists,â he said. âWe only teach in Arabic and have qualified religious scholars...We donât have science or mathematics.â Bomb making falls under arts and crafts, I guess. Less than two kilometers (1.2 miles) away lies the Darasitul Islamia madrasa, where six Malaysian students were arrested Saturday, the same day Kashmiri militant chief Hafiz Saeed, former head of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Taiba group, was giving a sermon there. Guest speaker, or is he a tenured instructor? The school is run by Lashkar-e-Taibaâs political wing Jamaat-ud Dawa, led by Saeed. He travels Pakistan exhorting followers to wage jihad (holy war) against Indian forces in disputed Kashmir. But not in the madrasa, huh? Saeed was known to often stay at the school. Staff and students refused to talk to journalists. Jamaat-ud Dawa said the arrested students had no connection with terrorism. âThey were all simple students who were known for their good behavior,â spokesman Yahya Mujahid said. "Theyâre all such good boys"
Posted by: Steve 2003-09-26 |
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